Cross Tag Character Collision
by TheViewer-X
Summary: Putting together as many characters as you can will inevitably lead to some bizarre interactions. And nowhere is that more clear than with Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle. What happens when the characters are not fighting in the field? Well, only one way to find out.
1. The Return of Mystery Food X!

Ruby Rose was merely enjoying herself, reading a comic book in the living area of the Beacon Academy dorm rooms. Next to her on her left, Weiss was merely reading an article on her scroll, and to her right, Hyde was watching the TV. Yu and Yosuke were sitting on a second sofa, also watching the TV. "Hey guys?" Ruby asked. "Sup?" Hyde replied. "I'm starting to feel hungry," Ruby said. "How about we get something to eat?" "Sounds good to me," Weiss replied. "It is starting to get about dinner."

"So, what should we have?" Yu asked. "How about fish?" Hyde replied. "I know a really good fish recipe I've made before." "Sounds like a plan to me," Yosuke replied. "I think it sounds acceptable," Weiss replied. "What do you think Ruby?" Hyde asked. "I'm okay with it!" Ruby replied happily.

"What's this about?" Chie's voice asked. She and Yukiko stepped out from the dorm area, questioning looks on their faces. "We were thinking about-" Hyde began, with Yosuke and Yu jumping in with, "DON'T SAY IT!" "-food?" Hyde finished.

"Oh, food?" Chie asked. "I was hungry," Ruby replied, "and we think it's about time to eat." "I'm game! How about we cook?" Chie replied. "Oh you don't have to," Hyde said. "I was gonna-" "We insist," Yukiko said.

"Don't do it!" Yosuke begged. "You just pipe down and shut up Hanamura-kun!" Chie said, grabbing Yosuke's nose! "We're gonna prove to you we can cook, and that's final!" She and Yukiko ran off to the kitchen, before either Yosuke or Yu could voice their further evident disapproval.

"What in the name of Dust just happened?" Weiss asked. "Chie and Yukiko cooking," Yu replied, "produces deadly consequences." "Say what?" Ruby asked. "We're dead serious," Yosuke replied. "The two of them cooking is a crime against humanity!"

"Is it seriously that bad?" Ruby asked. "It can't possibly be," Weiss replied. "You two are just being dramatic, as per usual." "We're not kidding!" Yosuke said. "Kido-kun! You saw it first hand, didn't you?" Weiss and Ruby looked to Hyde, who gained a thoughtful look.

"Well," he said, "I guess I kind of did. Back in the Phantom Field when I met Yukiko she had cooked this... thing. But I don't know if that was strictly just her doing." "Have you ever tried to eat anything," Yosuke began, "crunchy yet soggy, burnt yet cold, and spicy yet sweet in one dish!?" "That... doesn't sound possible," Weiss said. "It happened," Yu replied. "...Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Ruby replied.

"Hey Ruby!" Jaune's voice yelled from the front door. "Those other guests you asked about, I brought them!" "Oh! Thanks Jaune!" Ruby called. "You can just let them in!"

"Guests?" Yosuke asked. "Sup?" Ragna said, strutting into the room with Noel right behind him. "Oh hey Ragna-san," Yu said. "It's been awhile." "Feels like it," Ragna replied. "But then again I've got better things to do then bumming around with some kids." "Ragna," Noel said.

"Hm?" Ruby said, eyeing up Noel. "You look familiar. Oh! That's right, you're the first person Weiss and I fought in the Phantom Field!" "Oh! Uh, yes, that's you," Noel said. "Nice to see you again. My name is Noel. I'm glad to officially meet you." "The feeling is mutual," Weiss replied. "Nice to see somebody has some understanding of formality." Yosuke stuck his tongue out.

"So," Ragna said, plopping into a chair, "what're you all up to?" "Progressively dreading," Yosuke replied, "the meal our friends have planned for us." "Meal?" Noel asked. "Oh, can I go see if I can help?" "Uh! Noel!" Hyde said, "maybe you shouldn't-!" Too late. She ran off to the kitchen. "Damn!" he said. He shared a fearful look with Yu and Yosuke. He recalled his past experience in the Phantom Field when he saw what she and Yukiko had come up with.

"Senpai~!" a voice called happily. Yu was pulled from his horrified state when he found himself glomped by a small girl with long brunette pigtails! "Hi Rise," he replied casually. "Huh? Rise-chan?" Yosuke asked. "When and how did you get here?" "We figured," Weiss said, "it'd only be right to have some friends from your worlds come over since you've already began seeing ours."

"That's right!" Rise said, popping back to her feet. "And since Teddie is going to be our next fighter, he offered to bring me along to come and visit!" "Well there's a spoiler," Hyde said. "Oh! You must be Ruby-san, Weiss-san, and Kido-san!" Rise said. "It's a pleasure to meet you all! My name is Rise Kujikawa!" "Uh, nice to meet you too," Hyde replied. _And here I thought Ruby had a sunny disposition,_ he thought._ This girl is positively blinding!_

"Hi there!" Ruby said, shaking Rise's hand. "I've heard a lot about you already!" "Well that's great to hear!" Rise said. "I hope they've been good things." "Of course they have been," Weiss replied.

"But I must ask Ms. Kujikawa, I hear that you are a person referred to as an 'idol,' if I'm not mistaken." "That's right," Rise replied. "Do they not have idols in your world?" "We do," Weiss replied. "Just not referred to as the same thing."

"And, have you seen some of my work?" Rise asked. "Your teammates have shown us some," Hyde replied. "And... did you like what you saw?" Rise asked, giving Hyde a flirtatious look. "What are you implying?" Hyde asked. "I'm just curious," Rise replied. "Which of my photos or videos did you watch?" "Ahem!" Hyde said, his face turning red.

"Heehee! I'm just messing with you Kido-san!" Rise said. "And that leads me to ask," Weiss said, "at your age, you're... comfortable with people seeing you like that?" "Of course!" Rise replied. "I look at being an idol as an artform! I'm not just an artist though. I'm also my own canvas, with both my body and my voice!"

"I could never do that!" Ruby shuddered. "I totally fall apart in front of large groups of people!" "Oh..." Rise said in disappointment. She began tracing her eyes up and down Ruby's body, causing the hooded girl to start flushing.

"Uh... what are you doing?" "Just looking," Rise said. "With your look, you could totally pull something off! Especially with those eyes of yours!" She got in close, uncomfortably so to Ruby's face. "Are those natural? They're so shiny!" "Uh...!" Ruby said.

"Rise," Yu said, "restrain yourself." "Aw, senpai! I'm not doing anything wrong!" Rise said. "So, what are you all up to?" "Dreading the thoughts of what Chie and Yukiko might have planned for us to consume," Yosuke replied, cursing himself immediately for not holding his tongue! "Oh, the two of them are cooking again?" Rise asked. "I'll go help!" "NO!" Yosuke positively screamed! It was too late, as Rise already skipped happily away to the kitchen!

"Why does the world want my stomach destroyed?" Yosuke asked, curling into a ball on the floor! "Is he being serious?" Weiss asked. "In case I die," Yu replied, "my last words are 'don't check my browser history.'" "Wait, what?" Ruby asked. She and Weiss shared a look, now starting to get progressively terrified as each participant entered that kitchen.

"Ahem!" a high pitched voice said. The group all turned to find... a... a bear, standing impatiently behind them. "Well, now that I have the floor," he said, "let me say, it is beary great to meet you all! I am Teddie!"

"... Yu? Yosuke?" Ruby asked. "A bear is talking to me." "His name is Teddie," Yu replied plainly. "We heard," Weiss asked. "But... why?" "Probably because he's a bear," Yu replied. "Not what I meant!" Weiss said.

"I think what she means is," Hyde said, "why is there a... bear... mascot... talking to us?" "He's from the TV World," Yosuke replied, standing back up and wiping his eye, almost as if he'd been crying. "Teddie, meet Ruby-san, Weiss-san, and Kido-san." "Beary nice to meet you all!" Teddie said again.

"And might I say, Ruby-san and Weiss-san, you are both beary beautiful!" "Uh... I don't know how to respond," Ruby said. "Cool it Ted!" Yosuke said. "Is there a problem?" Hyde asked. "Yeah," Yosuke replied. "Teddie here doesn't really get the whole 'not interested' idea, and would try to mate with just about anything." "So kind of like you," Weiss replied. "Gah! At least I just flirt!" Yosuke said. "This guy is just creepy!"

"Creepy!?" Teddie said. Suddenly, his head popped off and a fairly attractive boy slipped out of the suit! "I'll have you know, I am a hopeless romantic! Not some sexual predator!"

"What the hell?" Hyde asked. "Okay, this guy is just plain weird." "Come now you two ladies!" Teddie said. "What do you look for in a man? Looks? Just see me right in front of you? A heart that won't stop? I've got that in spades. What will win you over?" "And he doesn't seem to acknowledge that I exist," Hyde added.

"One thing which I desire is a lot more silence," Weiss said. Teddie took that hit hard! "Come now," Teddie said. "What do you look for in a boy? What can I provide for you?" "All you'll get out of me," Weiss said, "is I look for somebody that's obedient, knows how much to speak, and has a respectable disposition." "So you're pretty much outta luck there," Yosuke said, "aren't you Ted?" "Gah!" Teddie said, feeling the hit again!

"Well, what of you, Ruby-san?" Teddie asked. "Huh? Me?" Ruby asked, feeling much more unsure with the spotlight on her. "Yes, yes, yes," Teddie said. "What does your heart picture for you dream boy?"

"Perhaps, some freckled farmboy with tan skin and bright green eyes, with an aged soul, and potential for great mystical qualities? And, perhaps, you are one who's into the younger boys, too? So, somebody perhaps, a few years younger?" "..." Ruby was dead silent for a moment, before finally following up with, "What? No. That all just sounds stupid."

Teddie collapsed in shame! "Jeez Ruby," Hyde said. "Not like you to just shoot down an idea like that." "But it sounded really dumb!" Ruby said. "Why would I ever be interested in somebody like that? That just doesn't fit with me at all." "Very dumb," Yu agreed. "Even you sensei!?" Teddie asked.

"Well, fine! What do you want?" "I don't know!" Ruby said. "I just... I just haven't really thought it is all!" "Yare, yare, daze," Ragna said, keeping quiet in his corner of the room. "Why did I have to choose now of all times to show my face?"

"We're done now!" Rise's voice called out. "Oh God help me!" Yosuke said. Sure enough, the girls came back out of the kitchen, a smoking plate in their hands that gave off a dangerously dark aura! "Here we go!" Noel said. "That... looks highly illegal," Hyde said.

"Well, who's up first?" Chie asked. "Not happening!" Yosuke said. "You could not pay me to eat something like that!" "I would love to," Yu said, "but I don't." "I... I'm just saying I opt out," Hyde said. "Sorry," Weiss said, "but I am not going to partake in... whatever that is!" "Nope, nope, nope, nope!" Ruby added.

The lot of them all turned to look at Teddie, who was only looking on curiously. "Come on Ted," Yosuke said. "You wanna impress the girls, right? Go ahead and tell them what you feel of that?" "Huh?" Teddie asked. "But I can bear-ly smell anything even from here with the scent that thing is giving off! That stuff is dangerous!"

"Why doesn't Ruby try it?" Yukiko asked. "Huh?" Ruby asked. "M-me?" "Yeah," Chie said. "You were hungry at the start weren't you?" "W-well yeah," Ruby replied, "but I have since lost my appetite!"

"Please Ruby?" Noel asked. "We worked super hard." Ruby felt the guilt of watching all the eyes of the "cooks" on her face. Finally, she caved and gave a heavy sigh! "Fine!" she said.

She took a fork and prepared a bite. But before she could even close her mouth around the utensil, she collapsed on the ground just due to the close contact with the... entity, all the color leaving her face! "Ruby!" The girls screamed.

"I saw this coming," Yosuke said, rubbing his eyes. "Mystery Food X is just as deadly as ever." "Good grief," Weiss said, "you were serious!" "I warned ya," Yosuke replied.

* * *

"Well," Yu said, "I think what we've learned from this experience, is to trust Hyde with cooking now and forever." "Amen!" Yosuke and Teddie replied.

After that incident, once Ruby was successfully revived, Hyde slipped away to the kitchen and prepared that fried fish recipe he had mentioned before. The dish was prepared relatively soon, and there was enough for everybody to have their fill. And it was positively delicious!

"After cooking for portions large enough for somebody like Wald," Hyde said, "something like this was simple." "I will admit Hyde," Weiss said, "you're quite the talented cook." "Thanks Weiss," Hyde said.

"Okay," Chie said in defeat, "maybe we're not the greatest chefs in the world! You don't have to rub it in!" "But maybe we'll get better," Yukiko said, "if Hyde cooks with us sometimes!" "That sounds like a great idea!" Rise agreed. "I don't want to step into that line of fire," Hyde said slowly.

He looked over to Ruby, who had barely touched her food. "What's wrong Ruby?" he asked. "Are you feeling okay after that?" "I..." she began. "I can't taste anything! I think whatever that thing was it blew all my taste buds off! I tried tasting it, but I got no flavor!"

"Oh no," Weiss said. "Okay seriously, what did you all do to my teammate?" "Agh! We didn't do anything wrong!" Chie said. "Like hell you did!" Yosuke said. "This is your fault and you know it!" "W-we're sorry!" Noel said. "We'll try to make it up! Just tell us what to do!" "You can go on a date with me for one thing," Teddie said. "Not happening!" the girls of the Investigation Team declared.

At the door, Ragna turned and could only look on at the group of hyperactive adolescents he was leaving behind. He had come over mainly to relax and see how Noel would get along, and he really did not expect things to be so... loud. "Yare, yare, daze," he said under his breath, as he headed out the door.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Well the time is here! The premiere of my revised BBTAG story is here! I'll try to update more often, now that I'm dealing with cases that are much easier to handle.**_

_**For starters, I hope you all hear about the Season 2 announcement that happened at EVO recently, where we finally have the announcement of the 5th Franchise of the game! And I gotta say, I'm impressed. I'll save my thoughts for the next chapter, where we get the official introductions.**_

_**Anywho, as for this Chapter, it was pretty simple as all I had to do was think of, what scenario to go through? And so two of them pretty much blended together. The first one being the infamous Mystery Food X from Persona 4, and the second being the introductions of Rise and Teddie to the likes of Ruby and Weiss. And I feel I did okay.**_

_**Like I said, this was mostly just character interactions, as will be later chapters, and I think, again, I did alright. We also got to see Ragna and Noel come back, so expect to see them more later.**_

_**As I may or may not have mentioned at the start, these will mostly focus on the likes of Ruby, Yu, Hyde, Yosuke, and Weiss. However, there will be more characters that appear in the future for other interactions, and a chapter or two that may not even have them. But these are the ones that I will be focusing on the most, because a.) the main problem I had with the previous version of my story was trying to juggle too many characters at once, and b.) these are the ones that out of all the cast I've decided I care about the most.**_

_**Not much else to say about this one aside from just the idea of putting Chie, Yukiko, Rise, and Noel all in charge of food was a monumentally deadly idea! If Fuuka were added to that mixture, Ruby would probably be catatonic. Oh yeah, I also chose Ruby as the unlucky victim cause' I felt it would be funny. I love Ruby, so don't misunderstand!**_

_**So, let me know what your thoughts are, and what scenarios you would like to see later on. I hope you enjoyed, and see you later!**_


	2. Attack of the Cameos!

"It finally happened," Hyde Kido said. "The 5th Franchise in our game was finally announced. And it's another one with a lot of characters as old as us. Wonder how Ruby is going to react to that." "Well," Weiss replied, "if she finally comes back from whatever it is she's doing, we'll find out."

Hyde, Weiss, and Yu were all standing at the front of Beacon Academy's courtyard waiting for the new arrivals that were recently announced at the recent EVO tournament as the first characters for "Season 2" of Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle. However, Ruby was nowhere to be found, despite how eager she was to see how things would go.

Teddie was one of the four new characters, and he was already well acquainted with the others by this point. Now all they needed to do was wait for the rest. Before too much longer, a Bullhead airship touched down and dropped off the remaining few members.

The first of them was a boy with dark hair with a streak of white, wearing a long black trench coat. "O-oh, hey Seth," Hyde said. "Um, good to see you again." The boy gave a dull look to Hyde, releasing a murmur before proceeding to try walking past him.

"Excuse me?" Weiss said. "That's no way to introduce yourself." Seth turned and delivered that same dull look to the others. "Fine," Weiss said. "Hyde, how about you introduce him to us?" "Sure thing," Hyde replied.

"Weiss, Yu, this is Seth. He's a... well I'm not really sure what he is to me." "I see," Weiss said, delivering a skeptical look to Seth, who continued to only offer a blank expression. Yu however, was not deterred.

"It's nice to meet you Seth," he said, holding a hand out. "My name is Yu Narukami. It's good to have you join us." Seth only continued to stare, before shaking Yu's hand. "Nice to meet you too," he managed to utter.

"Yeah," another boy's voice said, "I've already kinda gotten used to his silent treatment." A boy with short brown hair, wearing a gray and white outfit came out next. "Nice to meet you all," he said. "It's an honor to join you in this event."

Weiss gave a good smile. "Nice to meet you too," Weiss replied. "I'm Weiss Schnee. It's good to see somebody has a respectful attitude." "Well thank you," the boy said, his face turning a little pink as he shook her hand. "My name is Naoto Kurogane."

Yu, Hyde, and Weiss all shared a surprised look. "Uh... is something wrong?" Naoto asked. "Well," Yu replied, "your name is almost exactly like a girl we know." "Huh?" Naoto said, balking at the response.

"R-regardless," Hyde said, "nice to meet you too. I'm Hyde Kido, and this is Yu Narukami."

"I suppose," Yu said, "this just leaves our newest addition to the cast." "Oh my gosh!" a high pitched voice yelled! Suddenly a pink streak collided with Weiss as the heiress was grabbed by a pink haired girl wearing a simple school uniform!

"It's so nice to meet you! My name is Heart Aino! It's so super awesome to be here!" Weiss was doing her best to behave rationally under the close contact she did _not _ask for! "Nice... to meet you too," she managed to say.

Heart opened her eyes to see Yu and Hyde standing behind Weiss. "Hello," Yu said, "how are you?" "Oh! I'm fantastic!" Heart said. "You must be Yu Narukami! The Sister Complex Kingpin of Steel!" Yu's face reddened. "Sister Complex?" Hyde asked, a smirk on his face.

"Oh I think it's just lovely!" Heart said. "The protective, dedicated love an older brother gives to his sister to make sure she lives a happy life is awesome!" "He's not even a brother though," Hyde said. "C-can you please let go of me?" Weiss asked.

"I'm hungry," Seth said. Everyone perked up, as it was the first thing that Seth had really said this entire time of his own volition. "Let's get something to eat," Hyde said, rubbing his head. "We can talk more inside."

The group headed into the Beacon Academy dorm lounge area, Hyde and Yu offering to make some food, Seth keeping a cold distance, with Heart practically skipping inside holding Weiss and Naoto's hands! However, before anyone could even take a seat, the rest of Team RWBY burst in through the other entrance, slamming the door shut behind them! They all leaned against the door, gasping for breath, with sweat positively pouring down their faces!

"Uh... what the hay just happened?" Hyde asked. "Oh! H-hey guys!" Ruby said. "N-nothing weird going on here!" "Don't give me that Ruby," Weiss replied, removing herself from Heart. "You're making a face even more suspicious than the time you stole my Dust crystals. What is happening?"

"Uh..." the three girls said. "Oh! You must be the newcomer!" Yang said, shifting her attention to Heart. "Hi!" Heart said happily. "Don't change the subject on me!" Weiss said. "What is happening?"

Suddenly a black clad fist burst through the door just in-between Ruby and Yang's heads! Ruby ducked to the side as the arm reached over and turned the doorknob! A pale girl with short white hair, wearing a black mask with a matching black skirt came in through the door.

"H-hey 2B," Ruby said. "Y-you wanna meet the others?" "I wouldn't mind," 2B replied monotonously. "But only if you allow me to join your roster."

"Say what!?" Weiss, Hyde, and Naoto yelled. "Y-yeah," Yang said. "We, may or may not have met a few people that want to join the scene."

"You cannot be serious!" Weiss said, rubbing her eyes. "Yay! More friends?" Heart asked. "No! No new friends!" Hyde said. "I wouldn't mind," Yu replied. "Of course you wouldn't," Hyde said.

"Um... excuse me?" a new voice said. The others looked to see a girl wearing a set of gray armor over a blue and white outfit, with tied back blonde hair trying to get their attention. "Forgive me, but I was just wondering if this was a bad time?" "Yes it is!" Ruby said. "Stay out of this King Arthur!"

"King Arthur?" Weiss asked. "You cannot be serious." "Actually," the blonde girl replied, "she is. But, I prefer to go by 'Saber.'" "Say what?" Naoto said. "Sorry about this Saber," Blake said. "I think we bit off more than we could chew."

"You got that right cat!" a gruff voice said. A girl came stumbling inside the door next, wearing a basic white shirt, dark skirt combo. The most bizarre thing however, was the fact that her dark hair appeared to be... alive. "Samson, calm down!" she said. "Eh, sorry. I'm Filia. N-nice to meet you-! Samson, enough!"

"Hang on! I got it!" a young boy's voice now said. Next, what could only be described as a monk with a blue arrow tattooed on his bald head came in, and smacked Filia in the head with a staff! "N-not what I was asking for Aang," Filia uttered. "Oh. Sorry," Aang replied.

"This is idiotic," Seth said. "We only just got here. Now we've got more competitors trying to claw their way in." "I'm not one to turn down more opponents," Naoto said, "but I do feel a little gipped." "Oh no!" Heart said. "You don't think I'm being replaced, do you?" "No. You're fine," Hyde said. "I think Team RWBY is just doing something... odd."

"I-I apologize," Saber said. "I wasn't trying to intrude." "It's okay," Weiss said. "At least you're behaving politely." "Well, thank you," Saber said. "I do my best to live by chivalry. I am surprised that the others were not trying to be as respectable in these circumstances."

2B suddenly grabbed Ruby by the hood and held her up in the air! "Am I permitted to join?" she asked. "P-please give me a sec!" Ruby said, her voice hoarse from her hood cutting against her throat. "It's not even my responsibility to say yes or no! Gah! Ugh! Not like this! Not like this!"

"Hey! Filia! Get a grip on your hair!" Yang said. "Trying!" Filia replied. "Maybe it would've helped if Aang didn't hit him and piss him off!" "Sorry!" Aang said.

"What's with all the noise?!" Ragna's voice screamed. He burst in next, holding his blade behind him! "Can't a guy catch a freaking nap in peace?!"

He caught sight of the amount of adolescents that were causing the ruckus, and his multicolored eyes began to twitch. "Ragna. Help!" Ruby said, giving him a puppy dog look. He spun on his heel, and hooked his blade behind him. "I don't want to deal with this," he said.

"Ragna-san," Yu said, "as the mascot, I think you'd be the one best suited to handling this." "I don't got the time," Ragna replied. "You. Deal with this. Your mess. Clean it. Just let me sleep. Or else, all of you are going to suffer." Ragna stepped back through the door, not looking back.

"Okay then," Yang said. "Well that was - 2B! Drop the sister! Now!" Ruby was finally released. "I apologize," 2B said. "I did not anticipate her suffocating."

"Everyone," Yu said, taking charge, "I appreciate your enthusiasm to be a part of our game, but I am going to have to ask you all to leave. We already have our five franchises now, so we're going to have to call it here. Please?"

"Aw!" Heart said. "We're not getting new friends?" "Afraid not," Naoto replied. "Very well," 2B said. "But my offer still stands." "Offer?" Ruby asked, gasping. "More like threat!"

One by one, everyone was calmed down and were prepared to make their way out. The three-fourths of Team RWBY were prepared to sneak back to their dorm room next, when a firm voice from their Ice Queen brought them to a halt! "You three! Here! Now!"

They made their way over and stood before Weiss. "Would you mind telling me what in the name of Dust was that about!?" "Sorry Weiss," Ruby replied. "We were just sneaking a peak at new contenders. I mean, all four of them were groups the creator said he could consider."

"But what's the point?" Weiss asked. "We already have the fifth 'Fate' announced for our game with Arcana Heart." "That's me!" Heart said happily. "So why bother asking for more?" Weiss asked.

"Well..." Yang said, rubbing her head. "Uh... that's the thing. Did you actually _see _the announcement trailer?" "No... why?" Weiss asked. "Well," Ruby began, "there's now going to be a... _sixth _Fate."

Everyone in the room was dead silent. Then, they released a collective "WHAT?!" "That's it! You're all going down!" Ragna yelled.

"No-no-no! Wait Ragna! We can explai-!" Hyde said desperately. But it was too late. What could only be described as the wrath of the Black Beast incarnate burst down that door and gave the adolescents a fierce beat down!

* * *

**_Author's Note: When I first had the idea to do one-shots like this, this was one of the first ideas I had. It's been said that Skullgirls, Avatar: The Last Airbender, Fate, and NieR: Automata were all franchises the creator of Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle said that he wouldn't mind having be a part of the event. So, I only thought it natural to go for something fun like this. Especially now, with the recent announcement of Arcana Heart as the 5th Fate for the game._**

**_And yes, let's all talk about that last cliffhanger, giving us indication that yet ANOTHER Fate was added in! Here's my reaction upon discovering this, after spending nearly Every. Single. Day upon hearing we would just be getting a 5th Fate._**

**_*... GRAH! Are you kidding me!?*_**

**_In all seriousness though, I am eager to see what happens next. And can only pray that we get it sooner than the announcement of Arcana Heart._**

**_I also can't help but also notice the convenient timing of having the this announced literally days after I buckled down and saw that I was going to be going for these one-shots instead._**

**_But yeah, let's get something else out of the way. I hope that there is no issues with OOC behavior from these cameos, as I only glanced at their wikia pages, save for Aang as he was the only one I was that familiar with._**

_**The big one is Heart, given that she is the new official addition to BBTAG, meaning she will be a recurring face. I'm worried I might've made her a little too ditsy for my taste. But then again, she was probably still high off the thought of being added to the roster. Still, I hope to portray her right as I begin to familiarize myself with her more.**_

**_Come next chapter, we'll really begin to hit a flow of normalcy. I hope you enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!_**


	3. Who's The Better Leader?

Quick Note: Due to a suggestion, I'll be trying a new format by having character dialogue split up into different paragraphs. Let me know what you think.

* * *

Hyde Kido had gotten pretty darn close to Ruby and Yu since meeting them in the Phantom Field. He had trusted the both of them at the start upon meeting them, and fighting alongside them. But the more that he thought about it, the more he started to come up with a number of factors that made no real sense to him.

The biggest thing, was the fact that the both of them were leaders. Ruby was the leader of her own team, Team RWBY, in Beacon Academy to become Huntresses. Yu meanwhile, was the leader of the Investigation Team, a ragtag group of teenagers that had come together to try and solve the murder case in Inaba, and soon found themselves protecting the place from the Shadows. And yet, the both of them seemed so vastly different.

Hyde wasn't one to talk, however, given the fact that he was hardly a leader himself. True, he was trusted by Linne to be the champion that she needed in order to end the threat of the Hollow Night, as well as break her cycle of neverending reincarnation. But he was hardly one to act as a leader. At best, the both of them were trusted partners.

Yet he couldn't deny the oddness behind how Ruby and Yu behaved. Particularly Ruby. This girl was not remotely like anything that Hyde would picture as a leader. It's not that he was being rude, either. The both of them had become good friends, which is why he was able to notice the differences between how Hyde pictured a leader _should _be, and how Ruby herself _was_.

"So let me get this straight," he said, getting their attention. The three of them were sitting at a table in Junes's food court, simply enjoying some time together, giving Hyde ample opportunity to question the both of them. "You're both leaders?" he asked them.

"Yup!" Ruby replied. "For some reason, Professor Ozpin not only decided to let me into Beacon Academy earlier than most students, but he also made me the leader of Team RWBY. It was pretty surprising, but it's been going well for us since."

"It's not like I particularly volunteered either," Yu added. "But it was decided I would be the best candidate to lead my team in the murder investigation."

"Okay I get that," Hyde said. "But what I'm having a hard time comprehending is... how. Like, the two of you don't exactly come off as leader types to me."

"Well," Ruby said, "what did you picture?"

"I don't know!" Hyde replied. "It's just... you two don't exactly come off as leaders!"

"Well," Yu replied, "I figure that it's just a relative point of view."

"I don't follow," Hyde said.

"How do you decide who's leader material?" Yu replied. "It could simply be we were the best choices given the rest of our teams."

"Huh...?" Hyde replied.

"Take myself as an example," Yu said. "I didn't particularly volunteer for the position as leader, yet everyone else saw that I was the best choice. Because none of them trusted themselves. Before facing their inner selves and unlocking their Personas, they had these parts of themselves that they were keeping locked away. And even after facing it, they saw myself as one of the main reasons they were able to confront it, and thus put their faith in me to further lead them into the future."

"I love my teammates, and I have faith in them too. But it just so happens that they all looked to me for guidance. And I can only hope that I was capable of offering that to them."

Hyde nodded. He supposed it made sense. "And what about you Ruby?" he asked.

"Huh?" Ruby replied. "Why do you think I was made leader? Well..."

Ruby was thoughtful for a moment. She really hadn't put much time into wondering those reasons. But if she had to guess...

"My teammates are far from bad people, don't get me wrong, but each and every one of them had to deal with their own flaws. Weiss, having to get over her own past lifestyle and learn about socializing and depending on others, as well as offering help when they need it. Yang, she's just not the most responsible person out there, and she's always been more of a follower. She needs guidance is what I'm saying. And Blake, she'll be the first to say that she's got flaws that keep her down, such as her lack of trust."

"I don't think I was the best choice to be a leader. But I guess... Professor Ozpin just saw me as the best choice."

Hyde looked between Yu and Ruby. Ruby was now looking fairly upset as she stared at the table. "So..." Hyde said. "Who's the better leader between the two of you?"

"Huh?" the two of them wondered. "I'm just saying," Hyde said. "If the two of you were leaders, who's the better one of you two?"

"Oh that's-!" Ruby said. "Uh... probably Yu. I mean, I haven't really done a whole lot!"

"Wrong!" Yang's voice yelled. "Huh!?" Ruby said. She spun around in her seat, and saw her teammates standing behind them all! As well as the following members of the Investigation Team!

"Wh-where did you all come from?" Ruby asked.

"I called them," Hyde said. "I was really curious, so I wanted to get everybody's point of view."

"Ruby is a great leader," Blake said certainly. "She's had some really solid ideas. She's been able to steer us in the right direction so far. She's never given up in the face of adversity, and was the whole reason why the four of us were able to stop Torchwick."

"That's cute and all," Chie said, "but Narukami-kun was able to lead us to stop the TV World from destroying Inaba!"

"Chie-senpai has a point," Naoto replied. "Narukami-senpai has always helped us to become stronger. He single handedly ensured that Inaba was saved. He is clearly the superior leader."

"That's a load of crap!" Yang said. "Sure, Narukami is pretty solid, but Ruby is hardly a bad leader! She doesn't take giving up as an option! She continues moving in the right direction! When one path seems lost, she just forms a new one on her own!"

"So what?" Kanji said. "Narukami-senpai does pretty much the same thing! And he does it better!"

The teammates continued to argue over who was the superior leader, the only ones not participating being Weiss and Yosuke.

"I think this has escalated too quickly," Weiss said.

"Agreed," Yosuke replied. "Personally, I think that my partner and Ruby-chan both have good aspects."

"Ruby is better," Yu said. Everyone was left surprised by that!

"W-what? Really?" Ruby asked. "W-why?"

Yu proceeded to pinch Ruby's cheeks, causing the red hooded girl to blush furiously!

"Nobody can deny this face," he said.

Hyde suddenly felt a protective instinct burst in his gut! "Hey," he said. "Cool it Narukami."

"I'm only stating the obvious," Yu replied.

"Of course you are," Hyde said. "But can you just... maybe... _not _pinch Ruby's cheeks like that?"

Yu merely shrugged as he let go of Ruby's face.

"Methinks that Hyde-kun is a bit protective," Yosuke said.

"Well," Weiss added, "I think that ends this argument."

"What are you talking about?" Yosuke asked. "Nothing was solved!"

"As usual, you're clueless," Weiss said. "Narukami just admitted defeat. That means that Ruby is the superior leader."

"Hardly!" Yosuke said. "Narukami just says random crap all the time!"

And now both Yosuke and Weiss got into a heated argument all to themselves. The whole while, Hyde, Yu, and Ruby could only watch as the Investigation Team and Team RWBY continued arguing to one another.

"I think I made a terrible mistake," Hyde said.

"You suck," Yu said.

"Thank you, Yu," Hyde said. "That really helps."

"I think I'm just gonna go," Ruby said. "Before this escalates any further. Oh, one more thing, have any of you seen Heart?"

Suddenly a pink blur appeared beside her! "Hi there Rubes!" Heart said happily. "You called?"

"Ah, good," Ruby said. "Come on, I wanted to talk to you about something!"

With that, Ruby and Heart scurried away, Ruby making the only choice that a true leader could do in this given situation: Shirking responsibility.

* * *

_**Author's Note: Well this one just sort of came off as a thought like, "Hey! What would happen if we had a debate on Yu and Ruby's leadership skills?" And, well, here ya go.**_

_**Now let's not go taking this seriously, it was merely made as a joke. For those of you that read my previous story, you'll recall how I had sort of made Ruby the leader of the joint group, but hadn't gotten to her actually doing anything of real leadership worth yet.**_

_**So this was merely just for fun. And I think that's the case with most of these things, right? Just having fun.**_

_**I also tried to have a bit more of Yu's spontaneous, trolling personality in this, as I'd yet to really show much of that yet.**_

_**So, what did Ruby have to talk to Heart about? Well, let's wait and see!**_

_**Be sure to leave me any suggestions you might have. And until next time, thank you once more for reading! Later!**_


	4. Ruby, Heart, And The Hunt For Love

Heart Aino was a girl that believed wholeheartedly in the power of love. Whether it be platonic, or romantic, Heart believed that love could triumph even over the most terrible of evils. So when she had heard of the lack of any love between her fellow fighters from the Phantom Field, she knew such a thing could not stand!

This truly came to a head when she had been confronted by Ruby, who was asking for advice that Heart was truly an expert on.

"You want dating advice?" Heart asked.

"Yeah," Ruby replied, rubbing the back of her head, gripping the hem of her hood in the event she had to hide behind it! "I was just thinking... I mean, really, it was just a spontaneous idea."

"Rubes!" Heart said, grabbing Ruby by the shoulders. "I am not one to judge you or anybody for wanting advice on romance! So come on, just tell me! What caused your heart to finally start desiring truly the most powerful emotion mankind has ever spawned!"

"Well," Ruby said, her face still flushing, "I was just reading a romance comic one day, and it got me thinking. I mean, I've got my teammates. Friends that I'd never really had before. People that I can laugh with and fight side by side with. And things have only gotten better now that I've met everyone from the Phantom Field like Hyde, Yu, Orie, Yukiko."

"And me?" Heart asked. "I'm in that list of best friends too, right?"

"Of course you are Heart!" Ruby giggled. "Yay!" Heart said happily.

"But it got me to realize that," Ruby continued, "the one person I'm missing in my life, is a boyfriend."

Heart gasped dramatically! "Oh Rubes, that is so precious!" she said happily, hugging Ruby by the neck! "We must pursue this! Don't you worry Ruby! I shall help you find your soulmate!"

Ruby giggled at Heart's rambunctious behavior. She didn't think it possible, and she was sure that everyone else felt the same, but she was somewhat thankful that she found somebody even more spontaneous and full of blisful optimism than Ruby herself.

"Come on!" Heart said, grabbing Ruby by the hand and running with her to who knows where!

* * *

"What the hell are you talking about?" Ragna asked.

Ruby was instantly beginning to regret asking Heart for help, as the first person that the Rare Maiden had taken the Rose Red, was to Ragna the Bloodedge.

"Uh... Heart?" Ruby asked. "Why did you bring me to Ragna?"

"It's obvious!" Heart said. "You both wear red! You both use scythes as weapons! And both of you have really bad luck!"

Ruby crumpled under Heart's comment! "Since when did I have bad luck!?" she asked.

"I ask again," Ragna said, "what the hell are you talking about?"

"We're looking for Rubes's soulmate!" Heart replied happily.

"And why the hell did you come to me?!" Ragna practically screamed.

"Huh?" Heart asked, tilting her head to the side. "You don't like her?"

"Of course I don't like her!" Ragna yelled again, causing Ruby to nearly fall to her knees from the force of the comment! Ragna quickly realized how he just put that, and tried to regain his composure.

"No. What I mean is... guh! Look, the kid's fine. She's sunny and fun to be around, I guess. But trust me when I say, I am the last person that anybody, freaking _anybody _should be in a relationship with."

"Oh..." Heart said in disappointment.

"Yeah," Ruby agreed. "And Heart, he's also really old."

"I'm not that old goddamnit!" Ragna said defiantly.

"Oh yeah," Heart said, failing to hear Ragna. 'I didn't think about that."

"He reminds me a lot of my uncle Qrow," Ruby added. "So it'd just be really awkward."

"Okie dokie," Heart said. "Well don't worry Rubes! I'm not giving up! Come on! There's still plenty of places to visit!"

Heart took off once again, Ruby having difficulty keeping up, even with her Semblance. Meanwhile, totally left behind them, was a very flabbergasted Ragna. "I feel like I've been totally insulted," he said. "Trucking hell do I need a break."

* * *

On their way to their next destination, Ruby and Heart bumped into Team SSSN, chilling outside. Heart brought Ruby to an abrupt halt by pulling on the scythe wielder's cape, and gestured for them to talk to the boys. Ruby wasn't one to turn down the offer, as she was good friends with at least Sun and Neptune.

"Say what?" the guys asked. "You're looking for a boyfriend?" Sun in particular was so surprised he had to reiterate with, "...you?"

"Yup!" Ruby said. "So, do you have any boys you can introduce me too? Particularly a really cute boy like in the romance comics!"

"What is this?" Sage asked. "Some kinda childhood fantasy?"

"From what I hear," Heart said, "Sunny, you and Blakey are an item! How did that come about? How did you two have your hearts go fluttering in unison?"

Sun's face turned as scarlet as... well, Scarlet, totally lost for words! "Wha-who-uh-ugh!" he said. "Well, we're-we're not really an item, per say! Bu-but I mean, we're close, sure! I-it's just that, she - we - y'know!"

"Come on Sun," Ruby said simply. "Just spill it." Sun's teammates were of no help to the Faunus, as all of them were watching with entertained looks at his reactions.

"Well," Sun began, "I mean, if you're looking for how we became close, then... I don't know. I just sort of, you know, was there for her. She was in a rough spot, you know that, and I was just... there. I didn't press her for anything, I was just there to listen when she was, you know, ready to talk..."

"I see..." Heart said, rubbing her chin. "So an emotional attachment helps the process along. Rubes, is there any boy that you're already somewhat close too?"

"Well," Ruby replied, "there is Jaune. He's been a good friend."

"Perfect!" Heart said. "Away we go!"

Once more, the two of them were off, Team SSSN watching them go.

"What the heck was that all about?" Neptune asked.

* * *

Team JNPR was more than willing to welcome Ruby and Heart to their dorm room, the four team members simply spending time to themselves reading comics. "So, what's up you two?" Jaune asked happily.

"Hmm..." Heart said. "I don't know Ruby, there doesn't seem to be any prospects on this team. I've become so integral with love I can practically smell it a mile away. Has this team already paired up with each other?"

"I... uh..." Ruby said. "Well, it's kind of ambiguous."

"What are they talking about?" Pyrrha wondered, unable to hear Heart and Ruby's whispering.

Suddenly, Heart gasped in shock! "Oh no!" she said. "If you get involved with that, that could create a love triangle!"

Now it was Ruby's turn to gasp! "That means I would have to choose between friendship and love!"

"Uh..." Jaune said. "What exactly are you two on about?"

A lightbulb now appeared over Heart's head! "Say you four," she said, "how did you all pair up?"

The four of them all exclaimed in shock and embarrassment, each and every one of them flushing furiously!

"What-?! We're not-! I mean, it's not like I wouldn't like-!" Pyrrha stammered.

"I-it's not like that!" Jaune said, his face pure red!

"No no!" Nora added. "I mean, Ren and I we're together, but not _together_-together!"

"I-I have no real... romantic feelings for her!" Ren added.

"Let's go Heart," Ruby said. "They're too flustered to admit it."

"I see," Heart said. "That leaves us with more difficulties. But, oh well. Next stop - ho!"

* * *

The next stop that Heart and Ruby went on, was to the boys of the Investigation Team. They also managed to find Naoto Kurogane with them too. Score!

"Huh?" Yosuke said in surprise. "Y-you're asking about dating? _You_?"

"Is it really that hard for everyone to believe?" Ruby asked. "Yes! I'm looking for a boyfriend!"

"What do you think Kanji?" Teddie asked. "She's about your body type?" "What the hell are you getting at?!" Kanji said, his face flushing.

"I mean..." Yosuke said, rubbing his head. "I don't know. I mean, you're cool Ruby. But I kinda like you... more like as a sister."

"Yeah," Ruby said. "I get what you're saying Yosuke. I don't see you that way either."

"Phooey!" Heart said. "Well, what about Nao-Nao?"

"Nao-Nao?" Naoto said. "Uh... well, it's nothing against you Ruby, but I'm kinda looking for somebody else right now."

"Ooh! Really?" Heart said, looking significantly eager! "What's her name?"

Naoto's face was bright red, as he cleared his throat. "H-Haruka," he replied.

"Ooh! That's lovely!" Heart said happily. "How did you two get together!? Tell us!"

Naoto's blush began becoming more and more fierce!

"Come on Heart," Yosuke replied, "leave him be. It's clearly too personal."

"Okay then," Heart said. "How about Yu-Yu? Do you like Ruby?"

"Yu-Yu?" Yosuke chuckled.

Yu looked sternly at Ruby for a few moments. "I don't know," he said.

Ruby began blushing a bit, her heartrate picking up. Good news? He was being honest. Bad news? He was being _honest_!

"What's going on here?" Naoto (Shirogane not Kurogane) said. She and the girls of the Investigation Team returned from wherever they had gone off to.

"We're trying to help find me a boyfriend," Ruby replied. "And it's ending in tears."

"Oh really?" Yukiko asked. "You've been rejected by everyone you asked?"

Ruby's self-esteem crumpled! "I-it's not like I've been rejected! It's just nobody's really been the right pick so far!"

"What about Naoto?" Heart asked.

"Huh?" Ruby replied. "We just asked Naoto. He says he's already in a relationship."

"N-not in a relationship!" Naoto replied. "It's just... there's a girl who's got my eye, okay?"

"No, not that Naoto!" Heart said. "_That _Naoto!" She pointed to the Detective Prince of the Investigation Team. Both Naoto and Ruby were dead silent for a moment, before the both of them began blushing and released shocked beyond shocked, "Huuuuh?!"

"Heart! That's not-! Naoto-!" Ruby said.

"Huh?" Heart asked. "Is there something wrong?"

"Damn straight there is!" Kanji said. "Naoto-kun is a girl!"

"Oh my!" Heart said. "She is? I couldn't tell!"

Naoto crumpled under the weight of Heart's words. True, her outfit choices were intentional, but the fact that she was more open about her gender now certainly lead to some crushing blows to her self-esteem when something like _this _occurs!

"Oh no!" Heart said, seeing how she effected Naoto! "I-I'm sorry Nao-Nao! I didn't know! Please don't be mad!"

"I... I'm not mad," Naoto replied. "I just... have nobody but myself to blame."

* * *

As Ruby and Heart continued their mission, they bumped into Seth and Carmine outside. Carmine was certainly not a favorite patron to be sure, as the boy was constantly causing fights and getting blood everywhere! Seth meanwhile was always drifting by with a deadpan look on his face.

"What the hell are you two looking at?" Carmine asked bitterly. Seth could only look with minor interest.

"Nope," Heart and Ruby said.

Suffice to say, Ruby and Heart's mission of love had come up short. The both of them were sitting outside, releasing heavy-hearted sighs.

"Hey you two!" Makoto said happily, grabbing a seat beside the two of them, with Noel and Mai walking up behind her. "What's with the long faces?"

"Oh, hi Makoto," Ruby replied. "Heart and I were trying to find a boyfriend for me, but the two of us have come up empty."

"I'm sorry Ruby," Heart said. "I failed in my mission. I cannot truly trust myself as a love master anymore after this."

"It's okay Heart," Ruby replied. "You did great. I guess the right guy just wasn't here."

"Oh," Noel cooed, "Ruby is trying to find romance? That's adorable!"

"Well," Mai said, "the best advice I can give is, just don't give up. You'll find somebody eventually. But, if push comes to shove, you might just not be ready for romance yet."

"No!" Heart said, hopping to her feet! "I cannot stand for this! Everybody deserves romance! And Ruby doubly deserves it for being humble enough to admit that she wants romance! I will not give up!"

"Why not ask those Investigation Team boys?" Makoto asked.

"Huh?" Ruby and Heart asked. "We already did," Ruby replied. "They weren't interested."

"Not for that," Makoto said. "I mean for finding the right guy. I thought I heard from Yosuke they did this... 'group date' thingy."

"Really!?" Heart asked in shock. "And he didn't tell me!? I must hear about this! The secret might be there!"

Giggling happily, Heart raced off to go and find the Investigation Team once again. Ruby could only giggle to herself at her friend's antics, sitting further back on the bench.

"What's up Ruby?" Hyde asked, walking over to her next, and taking the now empty seat.

"Oh, hey Hyde," Ruby replied. "I've been looking for a boyfriend, so I had Heart try and help me look, but right now I've come up with nothing."

Hyde felt his face flush a bit at the prospect of just how bluntly honest Ruby was being. He did not have the best track record when it came to girls, so her way in handling the situation was definitely not relatable to him.

"Well," Hyde said, "I'm sure you'll find somebody."

"Really? You think so?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Hyde replied. "I mean, I'm not really the best person to ask advice from. Trust me, if you've seen my past relationships with girls you'll wonder how I'm even still alive. But, all I can say is, the best thing you can do for yourself is just be honest. Find somebody that will like you for who you are, without worrying about things like how you look or stuff like that."

"I've learned the hard way, that the best thing you can do in any relationship, not just romance, is being true to yourself. Live life with the prospect of, 'this is who I am.' So far, it hasn't lead me astray, and I am a good person because of it."

Ruby looked enviously at Hyde. Envious of how confident he was with himself. The way that he carried himself with every word he said.

"Thanks Hyde," Ruby said. "You know, I think that really was good advice. And you know, I realize now that, I am already doing that. So if nobody is that interested in me despite this, that must really mean that he isn't here."

"You'll find him one day," Hyde said. "I'm sure of it."

Ruby giggled happily, as she took Hyde's hand. "Yeah," she said. "One day. Thanks again Hyde."

"No problem," Hyde replied. "What are friends for?"

Standing just off to the side, Makoto, Noel, and Mai were all looking with totally dumbstruck looks. _How are they both this oblivious!? _they asked silently.

* * *

_**Author's Note: This little chapter is based on a story from the first volume of the RWBY Manga Anthology. If you haven't checked it out yet, please do yourself a favor and snag it!**_

_**Anywho, this is based on the story, "Little Red Riding Hood Seeks the Fruits of Love" by Kaogeimoai. I knew the moment I read that, I wanted to do something like it in here. And with the addition of Heart, that little desire was only cemented.**_

_**It's just such a fun and goofy idea. Ruby Rose, of all characters, pursuing romance. It was too precious to avoid. And like I said, with Heart Aino added to the cast, it only made things that much more perfect!**_

_**This will be far from the last we see of this little "quest" between Ruby and Heart, don't you worry! And yes, for those of you fellow shippers of Ruby and Hyde, I did intentionally tease you all. I am a proud shipper of these two, so might as well get that out of the way now!**_

_**Anyways, you probably know where things are going to be heading next. But we may or may not have one stop or two along the way. In any case, thank you for reading! Be sure to leave any suggestions you have, and I'll see you next time!**_


	5. Blake Is Kawaii

Nora Valkyrie was a girl of boundless enthusiasm and energy. She could pretty much not contain any of her eagerness and spirit, and would wear it on her sleeve, whether the people around her liked it or not. And one of her weaknesses that could only further accentuate this point? Animals. Specifically, the really cute ones.

So it only made sense that she would smother Team RWBY's dog, Zwei, in loving attention! Whether it be by tickling his belly, playing fetch, or any other number of cuddling and fun loving games. It was no use, the girl was positively enamoured by the corgi.

And just to the luck of some of her friends and allies that they got a front row seat to these incidents as she sat in the dorm room lounge of the school, as she continued playing with the dog, bouncing him up in the air as she laid on her back!

"Wow," Yang said. "I never thought that I'd find somebody just as, if not even more, energetic with that dog than Ruby or Weiss."

"In the hour or so that I've known Nora," Naoto (Kurogane) said, "it honestly doesn't surprise me."

"How could I not be so happy!?" Nora asked, as if it was the dumbest question in the world. "This dog is too precious for words!"

From her seat at the kitchen area counter, Blake could only roll her eyes. It's not that she particularly disliked Zwei, it's just that her own natural feline versus canine instincts kicked in whenever she was so much as in the same proximity as that dog! She knew she was just being silly, but it was a part of herself she couldn't dodge no matter how hard she tried.

The only person that she found that could at least somewhat relate to her in that front, was Makoto, who was sitting next to her as Blake read her book. It was a unique factor that Makoto was able to kick her own natural instincts most of the time despite technically having more animal traits about her as a Beastkin than Blake had as a Faunus. She would seriously have to ask her how she kicked them most of the time. Aside from how much Makoto liked nuts, which was a fact that Makoto proudly accepted.

From her spot on the floor, Nora spotted Blake giving the occasional stink-eye from behind her book, and thought of a devious idea. She hopped to her feet, holding Zwei behind her back, Blake failing to notice as she continued to read.

"Hey Blake~" Nora said.

"Yes?" Blake asked, looking up in time to see Zwei put directly in front of her by Nora, the dog licking her nose. Blake hissed in fear as she jumped up from her stool and hid behind Makoto!

Nora proceeded to burst out laughing, involuntarily dropping Zwei on the floor, the dog not the least bit injured. Nora laughed so hard she fell to her knees, as Blake gave her a look which spelt death the instant she had the chance!

"Oh you are _too _funny Blake!" Nora laughed. "If Zwei was here just a little bit before we found out you were a Faunus, you would have NO way in hiding it!"

"Yes," Blake said firmly, moving from behind Makoto. "Thank you Nora. Thank you for blurting that out, when somebody who doesn't know that about me, could have easily walked in and heard you. I really, sincerely, appreciate it!"

"Alright, alright, alright," Makoto said, defusing the situation as she stood between Blake and Nora. "Let's not go there anymore. We're cool, right?"

She suddenly felt something begin tapping her ears. She turned around to see Nora poking the pair of squirrel ears she had on her head. "Uh... Nora?" Makoto asked. "What'cha doin'?"

"Poking your ears," Nora said. "Duh!"

"I see," Makoto said. "Why?"

"Because, silly," Nora said, "you gave me the perfect chance so I could poke them!"

Makoto could only blink a few times in shock, not even bothering to stop Nora, as she continued poking Makoto's ears, which flicked instinctively every time they were poked. "Is she being serious?" she asked Yang and Naoto. "Dead serious," Yang replied simply.

Next thing she knew, Makoto's tail was now grabbed! The girl leapt in surprise as she saw Nora was now hugging the _gigantic _squirrel tail that escaped from her behind!

"Oh~" Nora said blissfully! "This thing is just as fuzzy as I dreamed!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Makoto said. With a firm 'swish!' she pulled her tail away, much to Nora's disappointment. "Nora," Makoto said, "I can relate to your enthusiasm, but ya can't just go... touching my body parts as much as ya want!"

"But they're so cute!" Nora said sadly. With a motion that could only be described as a blur, she proceeded to swipe Blake's bow off her head, leaving her ears totally exposed! Before the girl could plant her hands over them, Nora proceeded to grab each ear and began poking and pinching them, much to the Faunus's dismay!

"Just like Blake's ears here!" Nora said. "They're so freaking cute, I cannot contain it!"

"Will you not do that!?" Blake said, stamping her foot on the ground, causing Nora to recoil in surprise! Blake then snatched her bow back fiercely!

"You know Nora," she said, "despite what you might think, I. Do not. Like you. Doing that!"

Makoto stepped over beside Blake, giving her a curious look with a tilt in her head. Blake could only look at her in confusion, wondering what the stare was about. "What?" Blake asked.

Makoto touched one of Blake's ears, much to her surprise! "Gah! Makoto!" Blake said, shielding them with her hands!

"Oh, sorry Blake," Makoto said. "I just couldn't help it! They really are cute!"

"Stop saying cute!" Blake said firmly.

"But didn't ya say ya liked having em' touched?" Makoto asked.

"What!?" Nora said. "Blake, you been holding out on me?!"

"I-I-!" Blake said, her face turning red! She looked to Yang for help, but the blonde girl merely gave a shrug, totally enjoying every moment of this.

"I only like them being touched with permission!" Blake said. "Having Nora suddenly just start pinching them, is not fun!"

"Now then..." she said, as she prepared to put her bow back on, "I am going to return to my reading in peace. And in order to obtain that peace, I am going back to my dorm room. Understood?"

"Blake-nyan!" a high pitched voice suddenly yelled.

"Oh God..." Blake said slowly.

Suddenly, Taokaka emerged in the doorway of the room, cheering happily at the sight of her fellow feline compatriot! "How's it going, Blake-nyan?" she yelled.

On the sofa, Yang and Naoto could not help but start laughing! "Blake-nyan?" Naoto asked between giggles.

"Oh, so you two know each other?" Makoto said.

"Unfortunately," Blake replied, as Taokaka began hugging her!

"Is that a cat wearing a hoodie?" Nora asked curiously.

"No, that's just Taokaka," Makoto replied.

"Hi Blake-nyan!" Taokaka said, for what must've been the third time!

"Hi. Taokaka," Blake replied. "How are you?"

"Oh great!" Taokaka said. "I just came back from a really great meal at that Junes place! Yosuke was so nice to give me all that fish~!"

"So," Makoto said, "how'd you tell her you're a Faunus?"

"Trust me," Blake said, "you do not want to know." Although the severe blush that had crossed over her face was telling everyone else in the room that they certainly _did _want to know!

"Listen Taokaka," Blake said, pushing the cat girl aside, "I have had a really straining past few minutes. And I just want to read. Alone. So please, allow me to leave."

Next thing, everything happened all at once! She began holding her bow back up to put it on her head, just as Taokaka began swiping her paws around in a fit saying, "no, no, no, no, no!" Then, Blake suddenly found a blade slash her bow right in half, effectively making it useless!

Everyone else in the room, minus Taokaka, all turned pale as the dead as they all stared at Blake's shredded bow! Her one disguise that she used to conceal her Faunus identity was now ruined, leaving her totally exposed!

"Taokaka!" Blake said!

"What?" The 'guardian' of the Kaka tribe asked.

"You ruined my bow!" Blake replied. "Now I can't hide my ears! Oh God!"

She put her head in her hands, pacing back and forth in a fit! "Hey, hey!" Makoto said, trying to comfort her. "It's okay! We can get it fixed!"

"Yeah," Yang said, offering her own support. "We got this Blake, don't even worry about it!"

"How?" Blake asked. "Those machetes that stand for Taokaka's claws totally shredded this thing!"

"It's only one slice," Yang said. "We can easily get it fixed. Trust me, I know a guy."

* * *

The air was tickling Blake's ears. It'd been awhile since she left them exposed for this long, so they twitched at the sligtest breeze. Making them look all the cuter for one Kanji Tatsumi, who's face was a bright shade of red as he couldn't help but stare and squeal in delight at the severe level of cuteness that he was experiencing!

"Kanji!" Blake said firmly.

"Gah! Uh, what?" Kanji asked in surprise.

"Please Kanji," Blake said, "can you see if you can fix my bow?"

"Huh, oh yeah," Kanji replied. He took the bow in his hands and began looking over the tear that Taokaka had easily created.

Blake could only sigh, her blush receding only a little. She hadn't told everyone from the Phantom Field that she was a Faunus, and had cat ears on her head. So the amount of attention she was receiving over them was going to be something very embarrassing to say the least. True, she knew that she could, and in some cases should, reveal the truth to them eventually, it was still something she found very difficult to reveal.

"You okay Blake?" Makoto asked.

Blake looked up at Makoto, not realizing she had lost herself in thought for a moment. "Y-yeah," she said. "I'm fine Makoto. I just want this to be over with sooner, rather than later."

Makoto could only smile. She didn't necessarily agree with Blake hiding herself the way she did, at the very least, Makoto could respect it. "You'll be fine Blake," she said. "In case you're worried over your friends seein' - ? Nora! Tail!"

The pink colored member of Team JNPR looked up from her moment of hugging Makoto's tail for the second time, and hastily releasd. "Sorry!" she said. "It's just too fuzzy to ignore!"

Makoto rolled her eyes again. "Like I was sayin'," she said. "If you're worried bout' the others seein' your ears or anythin', just don't! They'll accept ya, I'm sure!"

"It's not just that," Blake replied. "I know they will accept me, especially having met people like you or Sun. But it's more like... the comments that I can't get over. In case you haven't noticed, I'm not partial to being called things like 'cute' or 'precious' or anything of the like."

"Kanji, how long do you think it'll take before you fix my bow?" Kanji looked up from his work, before quickly returning to the bow in question.

"Not that long," he replied. "It's just a single tear here, so it's not that complicated."

"Good," Blake said. "That's really good to hear."

"I'm really sorry Blake-nyan," Taokaka said. "I didn't mean to make you sad!"

"It's fine Taokaka," Blake said. "It was just an accident. The sooner I get my bow fixed, the sooner I'll be totally happy."

"Hi all!" Ruby said, forcing the door open, Weiss rolling her eyes as she followed just behind her! Next thing Blake knew, pretty much everybody she knew was entering the room, and began to see her ears!

"You. Are. Kidding me!" Blake said.

Heart was the first to react, putting her hands to her mouth and took a dramatic intake of breath, a goofy smile coating her features! Yu, Yosuke, and Hyde all gained looks of shock or embarrassment, whilst Chie and Yukiko were a mix of confusion and delight!

"Why are all of you here at once?" Blake asked, arguing silently with herself over whether or not to try hiding her ears with her hands or just accept the fact they already saw!

"I may or may not have given them a group text," Yang replied.

"Yang! Why?!" Blake half-shouted!

"So..." Yosuke said. "You're one of those... beast, fauna, things, eh?"

"Wow," Yu added. "Those are incredibly cute." Blake's face reddened. He said the word.

"I know right?" Ruby asked.

"Don't encourage them!" Blake said.

"They're right," Yosuke said. "They're too adorable to describe."

"They're super cute!" Chie agreed.

"They're not wrong," Hyde said.

"Oh they're beautiful!" Yukiko said.

"See?" Weiss said. "We told you you looked better without the bow."

Blake felt her face continuously getting redder! She did not like pretty much any attention whatsoever. This? All this? It was too much to handle.

"Alright, leave her alone," Makoto said, slinging an arm over her shoulders. "Can't you see she's embarrassed?"

"Oh, we can see," Yosuke said.

"Yeah, her face is as red as a tomato," Nora added.

"It was a mistake to let you all know the truth," Blake said, hiding her face. She would be surprised if the blush would ever die down.

"It's okay Blake," Yu said. "We don't think any less of you."

Blake looked up, raising an eyebrow at him.

"He's right," Hyde said. "Ears? No ears? We don't really care. We like you as a person, not because of any... additions you may have. And vice versa, we don't see any issue with you having these ears on you."

Blake could only release a breath she must've been holding for what felt like the past forty-five minutes. These people were all crazy. But she loved them. And they loved her in return, she couldn't deny that.

"Just know that I'll hide your bow whenever we're hanging out privately," Yosuke added.

"What?" Blake asked.

"Yup," Yosuke said, snatching the repaired bow away from Kanji! "Don't hide from us kitty cat."

"You are not taking my bow," Blake said, trying to take her bow back! Her face reddened once more when she realized what he just called her. "And don't call me kitty cat!" she demanded.

"What? Does it embarrass you?" Yosuke asked.

"Yes!" Blake said. "I am not a pet!"

"Oh. But it's cute! And so are you!" Yosuke said.

"I am not cute!" Blake said, finding no help as her friends continued laughing at her expense! "Gah! I really do hate all of you!"

* * *

Finally, after what felt like the longest eternity of her life, Blake finally found the peace and quiet that she had so longed for, and began reading her book in her dorm room, on her bed. She read for a good amount of time, feeling like she'd officially recovered from her embarrassing ordeal earlier that day, her bow secured firmly back around her ears in its proper place. However, some time later, she spotted a laser dot on her book!

_Not again! _she thought. She clapped her book shut and turned to see Nora giggling happily in the doorway, holding the laser pointer in her hand.

"Nora! I swear to God!" Blake snapped. Nora quickly ran off in response.

Blake returned to her reading, but barely a minute or so later, thet laser was back, and Blake could not help but follow it with her eyes, dropping her book involuntarily as she followed the dot up to the ceiling.

She shook her head violently, and picked her book back up, choosing to just try ignoring Nora as she began to read again. She managed to actually read in peace for almost ten minutes, when she felt something touch the side of her head. Before she could even attempt to sucker punch Nora in the gut, she suddenly felt a euphoric sensation shoot through her entire head as her pupils turned massive!

_Oh no..._ she thought, dropping her book once more. _Cat Nip! Why?!_

She was lost, all motor functions gone! The cat nip was pulled away, Blake following it with her eyes just long enough to see that now it was Heart holding it, not Nora, before she collapsed off the bed in an attempt to follow it, landing firmly in Heart's lap, purring in delight as Heart rubbed her head gently.

"Good kitty!" Heart giggled.

From the doorway, Yang, Nora, and Naoto watched the ordeal go down. "See? What'd I tell ya?" Yang said.

"Oh that is too much fun!" Nora said happily.

"You do realize," Naoto said, "that when Blake finds out you put these two up to this, Yang, she will kill you, right?"

"Eh," Yang said. "I'll deal with that when it comes to it. For now, let's just enjoy the show."

* * *

_**Author's Note: So this was the first suggestion I have received from one 'Cure Crystal!' Thank you so much for the suggestion, and I hope this one made you laugh.**_

_**I had already planned on doing something with everyone discovering Blake as a Faunus, so this pretty much grew from that scenario suggested. I felt that Blake's embarrassment from everyone finding out she was a Faunus, but giving her the exact opposite reaction she was used to in life, was too good to ignore. I felt that making her so flustered could only offer great content.**_

_**There might be some out there that think that having such laughter at her expense is wrong, but it's all in good fun! There's no hard feelings, and trust me, there has been worse... FAR WORSE done to Blake out there on the internet over her feline side. This? This was child's play by comparison.**_

_**And don't you worry, now that Heart knows the truth too, she will certainly... certainly... have her own fun done in the future!**_

_**Anyways, once again I hope that this was enjoyable! Thank you once again to Cure Crystal for the suggestion, and if there's any other suggestions out there, please do let me know! And until next time, thank you so much for reading, and see you all later!**_


	6. What's In A Name?

Naoto Shiragane was the type of person to not be bothered by how people thought of her. While that certainly was not always true, she had merely lied to herself so often by putting up the front of being a strong, confident, well rounded "boy" that she just had honestly convinced herself that she didn't care what other people thought. Ever since she confronted herself and had come past that, she now lived the lie that she had modelled herself after.

But being such a strong, well rounded individual for real, she naturally found herself seated well with the likes of Orie Ballardiae, Weiss Schnee, Pyrrha Nikos, Rachel Alucard, Linne, and Heart's friend Saki Tsuzura, as they sat together to enjoy some time to themselves in the Junes food court. Being women of professionalism and manners, they naturally found kinship between each other. Well, some of those descriptions were not entirely accurate for the likes of Weiss or Linne, but they fit for the most part.

Rachel looked up at the overcast sky, holding her hand out as a lone snowflake danced down into her palm. "Such a time like this," she said, "as the weather is fluxing in such a way, I cannot help but enjoy. I must admit, the places of Inaba and even Kanzakai are so enjoyable in their... juvenile ways."

"J-juvenile?" Naoto asked. "How do you mean?"

"Your worlds are so primitive," Rachel replied, "and yet I cannot help but find some semblance of charm for just such reasons."

"I... see," Naoto said.

"Well," Orie said, "I... uh, thank you for your... opinion?"

Rachel merely shrugged as she took a sip of her tea. The others couldn't help but find Rachel's nature so very odd to get a grasp on. On the surface she seemed to look down upon others, yet found some enjoyment in spending time with the others. At least, that's what they figured for why she continued to hang out with them like this.

"Anways," Linne said, "are you sure we shouldn't have invited Yukiko to this?"

"I think it's for the best we didn't," Naoto replied. "While she seems to relate to our style on the surface, Yukiko-senpai can be a bit... scatterbrained. She'd probably be tripping over her own words several times. I just think she'd end up embarrassing herself, even if she didn't find herself embarrassed."

"Agreed," Weiss replied. "Let alone, if she decided to make something for us to eat during our time together." She couldn't help but shudder at the memory of Ruby being unable to taste anything for nearly ten hours after 'The Return of Mystery Food X,' as Yu and Yosuke labelled it.

"Oh?" Rachel asked curiously. "Is she not a good cook?"

"Trust me Rachel-san," Naoto said. "Even if you're some immortal vampire, you may die if you consume too much of what she can concoct."

Rachel could only offer a look of confusion and revulsion at the descriptions that Naoto offered.

Naoto checked her watch, taking another sip of her own drink. "He should be here soon," she said.

"Oh? Are you waiting for somebody?" Saki asked.

"Yes," Naoto replied. "Just a friend I wanted to discuss something with."

The other girls couldn't help but look curiously to one another, silently wondering what she meant. Finally, Naoto seemed to perk up, apparently seeing the one she was waiting for. "Please excuse me," she said. "I thank you for your time, but I must be going."

She walked away, the other girls looking after her and seeing that the person she was waiting for was... Naoto! Uh, and I mean Naoto Kurogane. The two of them seemed to be talking together, smiling to one another, as Kurogane seemed to offer they leave, with Shirogane agreeing, and the two began walking away.

Weiss was now very curious as to what that was all about. Was Naoto... on a date with Naoto? It was clear as the scar on Weiss's face that Kanji had a thing for Naoto, and the poor boy might be devastated if he discovered that she was doing something like this behind his back! Not to mention, Kurogane had said that he was practically in a relationship with that girl, Haruka.

So why meet like this? Naoto Shirogane had barely ever spoken a word with Naoto Kurogane before! Suffice to say, Weiss's curiosity was now piqued.

She sat up from the table herself, and spun around towards the direction that the two of them had just left for. "Excuse me," she said. "But I must be going too."

"You're going to spy on them, aren't you?" Linne asked. Weiss couldn't help but take the hit from that statement!

"Uh... wel- I... maybe," she replied.

"Weiss, that's wrong," Pyrrha said. "You can't just go spying on them!"

"You can't tell me you're not in the least bit curious," Weiss said, "about what they're doing together!"

"I... I never said that," Pyrrha said.

"Pyrrha!" Orie said.

Weiss smiled smugly. "I'm going to see what those two are up to," she said firmly. "And you're not going to stop me."

"We're coming," Saki and Linne said firmly, getting up and proceeding to follow.

"That's more like it," Weiss said happily.

"Saki! Linne!" Orie said, watching as the two followed Weiss, as she made her way away.

Rachel could only roll her eyes. "In that case," she said. "I figure that I shall take my leave now. I've been meaning to meet with that girl Petra from this Celestial Union Miss Tsuzura told me of. They seem like an interesting investment."

"Miss Nikos, Miss Ballardiae, sorry to leave you like this. But I hope that you enjoy each other's company."

"Trust me," Orie said, "I think we'll be just fine. It's those other three I'm worried about."

* * *

The three stalkers kept a safe distance, as Kurogane and Shirogane made their way to one of the parks that Narukami said he'd frequented during his year long stay in Inaba. "So, uh, Naoto," Shirogane said. "You say that you had made a bond with that girl you know, Haruka."

"Uh..." Kurogane said, his face reddening lightly. "Y-yeah," he said. "T-the two of us are close."

"How did you grow close?" Shirogane asked.

Kurogane cleared his throat, the situation clearly not his forte.

"Boy," Weiss said, "does she not have any understanding of limits?"

"How much do you think he'll say?" Linne asked, petting the head of her pet Kuu, who was sitting on her shoulder. Even she had a little pink tinge in her cheeks as she listened intently.

"I feel," Saki replied, "that this is a breach of privacy."

Kurogane finally cleared his throat, looking Shirogane in the eye as he replied. "It took time," he said. "I was a bit... dense, at first. I was just so dead set focused on everything else I was dealing with, I never bothered paying attention to her feelings. Or my own to an extent."

"We did... nearly kiss at one point."

The four girls that were following them all nearly squealed in delight as they listened! It took everything in their power not to burst out the noises that arose from the pits of their hearts so as not to reveal their presence.

"And...?" Shirogane asked, her own face a little red as she prodded for this information. "Did you ever kiss?"

"...Yes, we did," Kurogane said. "When I was... ready to finally be with her."

"And when did you know that was the time?" Shirogane asked.

"I just did," Kurogane said. He couldn't help but laugh awkwardly. "I-... I know that I kind of walked into this, but it's still awkward to talk about it so openly."

Shirogane put a hand to his arm, offering a small smile. "It's alright," she said. "You're very bold to do so. I know that I wouldn't be nearly as strong if I were in your position."

"I guess that's just the way the cookie crumbles," Kurogane said. "But... there's seriously no girl you could've gone to for this? I mean I just assumed-"

"No," Shirogane said. "I know why you'd think that, but that's just not it. Especially when I associate myself with girls that follow me like this."

The girls that were off to the side all balked at the accusatory look that was now sent in their general direction! Shirogane looked at them firmly, and curled a finger towards her as a silent gesture to demand they approach. With little other choice, the four girls all guiltily came forth, as Kurogane looked utterly confused.

"Uh... what are you doing?" he asked.

"We were following you," Linne said, Kuu gurgling sadly.

"Why?" Shirogane asked.

"We thought that you two were on a date," Weiss said, curling her ponytail. "But can you blame us?"

"Yes, I certainly can!" Shirogane said, her face turning red. "That's just not right! Why would you do that?"

"Well what were you doing?" Saki asked, turning her own accusing look at Shirogane. "Talking about such romantics?"

"If you must know," Shirogane said, hiding her face behind her hat. "I was asking Kurogane-kun here for dating advice!"

The other four girls all looked stunned. "What?" they asked.

"Considering that," Shirogane said, "Kurogane-kun is one of the only people I know in a stable relationship, I figured that it would be the best idea for me to ask him for advice."

"Advice for Kanji, right?" Weiss asked.

"I don't have to answer that," Shirogane said.

"Hold on a moment," Saki said, "why haven't you asked Heart for advice? She's all about love, she would be happy to help you."

"Reason number one," Shirogane said, holding up a finger, "Ruby-chan already beat me to it. And reason number two... I really find that wouldn't be the wisest idea for me to do."

* * *

Far away, Heart Aino let loose a sneeze!

"Bless you!" Yosuke said. "You okay, Heart-chan?"

"Fine," Heart replied. "Now then, tell me more about this... Group Date thingy of yours?"

* * *

"I really didn't want to further open up that box," Shirogane said.

"I... understand," Saki conceded.

"So you wanted to ask the other Naoto here," Weiss said, "for dating advice, given he's somewhat in a steady relationship. I can't help but find that isn't the only reason, however."

"What do you mean?" Shirogane asked.

"You both have the same name," Linne replied, "is what I think she was getting at."

Both Naotos sure enough looked to each other. "Yeah," they both said. "That's definitely going to take some getting used to."

"I'll admit," Saki said, "I find it to be quite charming."

"Well then," Shirogane said, "if that'll be all, could you please leave? Now?"

"Fine," Weiss said. "We will. But please, do just be honest with us for the foreseeable future, please? That way we won't go assuming that Naoto is getting cozy with Naoto."

The both of them sighed heavily, as the three other girls began walking away.

"Do you really find it charming," Linne asked Saki, "that there are two Naotos we now have to live with?"

"I do, actually," Saki replied. "Especially with Weiss."

"What's that?" Weiss asked.

"There's just somebody I need you to meet eventually," Saki replied.

Weiss couldn't help but silently dread what Saki might have meant.

"Your friends sure are something else," Kurogane said.

"Yes," Shirogane said. "Pretty much all of them are, not just those three."

"So," Kurogane went on, "about what they said before? Do you think our relationship will be that special, just because we share the same name?"

Shirogane put on a thoughtful look. "Maybe," she said. "Or maybe not. I mean, what's in a name truly?"

Kurogane couldn't help chuckle. "No arguing with that logic," he said. "No arguing with that."

* * *

_**Author's Note: This was the other suggestion brought to me by 'Crystal Cure.' Just a simple idea, but one that quickly ran away with itself. It'd been a joke pretty much since day one of having Naoto Shirogane and Naoto Kurogane together in the same space, so I just went with where my heart told me to go, and I think it was an alright scenario.**_

_**Another fun factor I got to do was have most of the 'fancier' girls gathered together, like Rachel, Weiss, Orie, and so on. This is also the first time we get to see another Arcana Heart character join the cast, in the form of Saki Tsuzura. She will not be the last. And also, no, this is not because we got more characters announced, although considering how integral she is to the series by this point, she is kind of a given you can't deny that.**_

_**Not really much else to say about this chapter, just a short, sweet, fluffy chapter based on a simple idea. Also, we get more foreshadowing to just exactly what Heart is up to since we last saw her. Brace for it folks, the next one is going to be hot!**_

_**Thank you for reading, and if you have any other ideas let me know! Take care!**_


	7. Group Date Cafe Revamped!

Yosuke had many memories that filled him with regret. He wasn't referred to as 'Captain Resentment' for nothing, you know. Although he would prefer to be known as the 'Prince of Junes,' if anything.

Regardless, one of the memories that he regretted the most was his genius idea of creating a Group Date Cafe for Yasogami High's 'Culture Festival.' Naturally, like most of his ideas, it ended in pain and humiliation. Not one of the highlights of 2011.

But the worst of all, was having Heart ask about that very same incident. This caused yet another memory for him to start regretting, being him telling Makoto about that event in the first place so she could, in turn, tell Heart of all people about it! The questions Heart asked were pretty simple, and she was so precious and everything that Yosuke couldn't help but tell her the honest truth.

Finally, she had her fill and took off for parts unknown. Yosuke couldn't help but fear what she might have in store. And for that matter, whether or not he should be more worried for himself or Ruby, the poor girl that Heart was trying to 'help' with all of this.

Soon enough, when Heart sent a group text asking everybody to meet up at Junes, Yosuke had the unfortunate fate of finding out what she had in store. All there and accounted for were himself, Ruby, Yu, Hyde, Kanji, Weiss, Orie, Chie, and Seth. And standing there, in front of a table she'd pulled into the back and decorated with a pure white tablecloth with bright red candles that had already been lit, was a very, very happy looking Heart.

"What in the hell is this!?" Chie asked fretfully.

"Well," Heart replied happily, "when Yokee told me about the Group Date Cafe you guys did, I couldn't help but think this would be the perfect idea for me to not only help Ruby with her love quest, but to possibly help everybody too!"

"Yokee?" Yu wondered, Yosuke's face reddening with her nickname.

"You cannot be serious Heart-chan!" Chie said, putting her head in her hands. "And what do you mean everybody!? Where's Yukiko? Or Blake-chan? Or Naoto-kun!?"

"Which Naoto?" Kanji asked. "Either of them!" Chie replied.

"Sorry Chie," Heart said, "but this is mainly for those in desperate need of help!"

"Who the hell are you calling desperate!?" Kanji said.

"You do seem to have terrible luck, Kanji," Seth said quietly. "But this is a terrible idea. Why am I even here? I refuse to stay in the same place with Hyde for too long."

"Thanks a lot for that," Hyde said bluntly.

Heart aimed her head at the ground, kicking her feet around sadly, a dismayed expression on her face. "You guys don't like it?" she asked.

"It's not that Heart-chan," Yosuke said. "I just... this is all a little... much, don't you think?"

"I... I put a lot of work into this," Heart said. "Could you at least try?"

"Let's do it," Yu said firmly.

"Senpai?" Kanji asked nervously.

"Look at the girl," Yu said. "You cannot deny that face."

Everybody looked at Heart, and sure enough, even the likes of Seth, could not turn down the look that could only be akin to a puppy that had been kicked. "Fine," they all said. "Yay!" Heart cheered.

Soon enough, all ten teenagers took a seat in front of one another, boys on one side and girls on the other. They had Ruby sitting in front of Yosuke, Yu in front of Chie, Heart in front of Kanji, Hyde in front of Orie, and Weiss in front of Seth.

"So, uh," Orie said, "how do we start?"

"Well," Heart said, "how about we start by asking some questions? That's what you did last time too, isn't it, Yokee?"

"Huh," Yosuke said. "Yeah, that is. But, uh, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Sure thing," Heart said. "I'll start! So, has anybody here gone on a regular date before?"

"Woah," Weiss said. "Straight to the point, are you?"

The boys all looked away, unable to keep eye-contact with the girls anymore. Save for Seth, who looked like he'd fallen asleep.

"I'm guessing that's a 'no' all around, eh?" Ruby said.

"Yeah," Yosuke said. "For the most part."

"I've honestly just never tried the dating game before," Hyde added.

"Don't even get me started," Kanji added.

The others looked at Yu, who had a severely deadpan expression on his face.

"Uh... Yu?" Orie asked.

"I've been on dates," Yu replied. "Not... good ones... but dates..."

Everybody noted a dark aura that seemed to come off his body as he recalled his past experiences.

"Uh..." Ruby said. "How about we move on? Any of you guys have some questions for us?"

"I've got one," Yosuke replied. "What do you look for in a guy?"

"This again?" Weiss asked. "You and Teddie really are alike."

"Come on!" Yosuke said. "It's a genuine question!"

Ruby could only sigh. "I just don't... I dunno, I don't really know what I'm looking for. I guess I'm just looking for somebody that I can be close too."

"Same with me," Orie agreed. "Looks or a particular personality trait don't really matter to me. The biggest thing I look for is somebody that I can relate to well enough."

"But given my duties to the Licht Kreis, any long lasting relationship is not easy. So, I suppose in that case, they have to be somebody that will be dependable and patient. I guess that is kind of asking for a bit in that case."

"Don't worry about me," Weiss said. "I stand by what I said before. Somebody that knows when to talk, and will be obedient."

"Sheesh," Hyde said. "That's asking for a bit isn't it?"

"Well," Weiss said, "uh, I mean... you know, I... I just want somebody that'll be kind and... someone I can rely on."

"You know, somebody I can come home to after a long day of work at the Schnee Dust Company or off on Huntress duties and... will have food waiting for me. Somebody that will ask me how my day was and be a good listener when I tell him. Somebody that will offer a gentle kiss after my day and say, 'it's over now. You're home. So just rest up.' Somebody that can offer me the comfort I need when I've been exhausted. And..."

She looked up from the table, realizing that everybody, even Seth, were now all staring directly at her. Her face turned as red as Ruby's cape, as she realized what she'd just been doing! "Tha-tha-that's all... uh, all hypothetical of course!" she said.

"Wow," Ruby said. "That was... a side of you I'd never seen before."

"That was so awesome Wei-Wei!" Heart cheered. (Pronounced 'why-why')

"That does make me wonder," Orie said, "what do you look for in a guy, Heart?"

"Huh?" Heart replied.

"That's a good question," Chie said. "For somebody that's all about 'love' and stuff, why don't you tell us what you look for in a guy?"

"I cannot deny," Seth said, "that is a good question."

"Really?" Yosuke asked. "Seth is asking about that?"

"I've spent an unfortunate amount of time with her," Seth replied, "since we're both among the newest recruits by now. It's come to mind on a few occasions."

"Well," Heart said, "I like the strong, broody types of course! Like Ragna!"

Everyone nearly felt their hearts strain from that statement! "R-R-R-RAGNA?!" they all asked.

"Of course!" Heart said. "We went on a date once before, after all!"

Everyone were now white as sheets! Nobody spoke, they scarcely even breathed! Finally they all collectively went, "WHAT?!"

* * *

Ragna the Bloodedge let loose a sneeze!

"Are you okay Ragna?" Noel asked.

"Yeah," Ragna replied. "However, I feel something very, very bad from my past has just been brought up."

* * *

"Since when - ?" Yosuke struggled to say. "When the hell did you and Ragna-san go on a date!?"

"It was awhile ago," Heart replied happily, not seeing any issues with what she was currently divulging.

"And you have... no issues..." Yu said slowly. "With his... age...?"

"Oh no," Heart replied. "He's not as old as you all believe~"

Everyone was now quite bothered. They all thought they knew about Heart's character since she seemed to wear herself on her sleeve. But now, they had no clue what to think about her anymore!

"Aside from that," Heart said, "I don't really have a particular type. As long as it's somebody that stays devoted to love, I'll be fine!"

"How am I not surprised," Seth said.

"Okay..." Hyde said. "Let's move past that."

"Please do!" Kanji said.

"Hey! You didn't even let me answer!" Chie said.

"One," Seth said, "did you want to answer that question?"

"...No," Chie replied.

"Two," Seth continued, "you cannot top that."

"I cannot," Chie conceded.

"Okay," Seth replied. "Now it's the girls time to ask a question."

"You seem to have gotten used to this," Kanji said.

"I've merely submitted to my fate," Seth shrugged.

"Well now I have a question," Orie said. "Let's say, hypothetically of course, what you envision with yourself and your partner in the future."

"Oh," Ruby said, "that's a good one."

"But you can't just say what girl you'd like to be with," Orie added. "Like what Weiss was saying earlier, you have to picture what your time living together would look like."

"Don't bring that up!" Weiss said, her face turning red again.

The boys all flushed heavily! No matter how much teasing they gave, it seemed that the boys were the ones that were more easily flustered by the questions of romance than the girls.

"Ahem!" Yosuke said. "Well, uh, the thing is, I... I dunno, I just... I'd like to be with somebody I could protect."

"Protect?" Weiss asked. "You mean, you don't want a strong woman?"

"That's not what I'm saying Ice Queen!" Yosuke replied. "What I mean is, I dunno, somebody that I could look after. Somebody that wouldn't mind having to rely on me."

"Sure, I wouldn't mind having a girl that's strong. But she should also not be afraid to look for me to be there when she needs me. I could come home one day, and she'd be there, and I'd ask her, 'how'd your day go?' And she'd tell me, 'oh it was rough honey.' And I'd ask her, 'how? Tell me.' And she'd talk to me, and I'd be there. She could let herself be vulnerable, knowing I'd be there to look after her."

"So kinda like what Weiss said," Ruby replied, "only hers wasn't as trusting, and was more heavy on the pampering."

"What are you getting at!?" Weiss asked angrily.

"Yeah," Yosuke added, "like hell I'd ever want to be with the Ice Queen!"

"The same goes double for Captain Resentment," Weiss added.

"And you had to go there!" Yosuke said, his head slumping.

"Yeah," Heart agreed. "Too much venom for a meaningful relationship to be formed there between those two."

"Huh!?" they both said. "What are you talking about?" Yosuke asked. "I don't have any venom!"

"And it's not like it's my fault," Weiss added, "that this boy frustrates me so much! He's like the Anti-Neptune. Similar personality, but none of the charm."

"Anti!?" Yosuke stuttered.

"L-let's just move on," Orie said. "Kanji, what about you? What do you picture your future looking?"

"Huh?" the rough looking guy asked. "Gah! Oh jeez, I dunno. I haven't thought that far ahead."

"Yeah," Hyde agreed. "Kanji doesn't look like the boy who'd think that far."

"What are you sayin'?" Kanji asked.

"And I meant nothing by it," Hyde hastily added, sweat appearing on his brow. "Don't take that the wrong way Kanji. Uh, heheh. Ehm! Uh, Seth! What about you?"

Seth was silent for another moment, as everyone looked at him. He bunched up his collar, as he seemed more bored and tried to go back to sleep. "If I live long enough to get a relationship," he said, "I'll let you know."

Everyone was dead silent after hearing that. "Well that was morbid," Ruby said.

"Hyde, what about you?"

Hyde looked away, thinking hard to himself. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I mean it's not like I haven't thought about my future. I've just never really put the time into thinking about having a partner."

"There are people that rely on me right now. Linne, Wald, Vatista. People that I have to look after, and don't mind spending my life with. For me, a relationship has been more of an after thought."

"How sad..." Heart said, tears starting to sprout from her eyes.

"Don't call me sad!" Hyde said.

"Alright, alright," Weiss said, changing the attention. "Narukami, you're turn. What do you think about your future?"

Everyone looked to the leader of the Investigation Team, who stared at the ceiling. His eyes suddenly closed, as he seemed to drift away into a dream.

"I would come home one day, my body sore and scarred. I would head to the bathroom, and clean a wound on my shoulder. My wife would appear beside me, and offer to help clean my wound. We would share a quick kiss, as we head to our bed and she asks me what happened this time. I would tell her that I pushed myself too far. She would tell me again, that I was worrying too much about others, something I couldn't deny. She would then tell me, that only leaves her worrying about me. I talk to her and tell her, I would never leave her. I would use every ounce of my strength to make sure I would always be by her side. We would then share a moment, before heading off to make our dinner, working side by side. We eat the food in our living room, watching a movie. We would spend the entire night together, her head on my shoulder, as I brush her hair. She tells me, 'I won't ever forgive you if you get yourself hurt again. Next time, I'll be there beside you.' I chuckle and say, 'I don't mind. Whatever you say.'"

He looks up from his dream, as everyone was left slack-jawed. "That... that was beautiful!" Heart cheered happily.

"I think my partner just won," Yosuke said, "when it comes to the daydreaming."

"Are we done yet?" Seth asked.

"No! Not yet!" Heart said. "The boys have to ask at least one more question! Then I'll be satisfied."

"Fine," Seth replied. "Kido, ask one."

"Huh?" he asked. "M-me?"

The girls all looked at him expectantly. He took a breath, and sighed heavily. "Okay," he said. "How about... what would you want the most when a boy asks you out on a date?"

"That's okay with me," Weiss replied. "I think... Simply just something respectful. Saying something along the lines of, 'Weiss, you are a very lovely girl and I would love it if we could go out together some day. Would you please allow me?' Something like that."

"Hmm..." Ruby said thoughtfully. "I guess, something like just being upfront would be nice. Just tell me like, 'Hey girl! I like you! You're really, really cool! And I wanna be your boyfriend.' Something like that."

The others couldn't help but snicker! "Ruby that was-! Hahaha!" Yosuke laughed.

"Okay... okay, alright," Orie said, wiping a tear from her eye. "I suppose, uh, something like what Weiss said. And not just on the factors of being polite, but merely the respect I would prefer to be mutual between the both of us."

"Mutual respect is a good thing," Yu nodded. "Chie?"

"Gah!" Chie said, not liking the fact that the others seemed to remember her being there! "Uh... oh boy. Uh. What Ruby said! What Ruby said is fine!"

"A lot of similar styles, huh," Hyde said. "And Heart?"

"Just speak the love!" Heart cheered. "Tell me that you think we're compatible when it comes to love! And then I'll be happy to see how it goes!"

"Well that was quite sincere!" Orie said happily.

"Okay," Ruby said, "I think we're done with all of that!"

"Well," Kanji said, "this went about as well as the last Group Date."

"I actually think it went better than last time," Yu said.

"I'm just happy it's finally over," Chie said.

"So Ruby," Heart said, "was this any help with you?"

"Not quite," Ruby said. "It just left me kind of confused."

"Aw!" Heart said, her heart slumping down. "Trust me Ruby, I'll help you find your love one day!"

Ruby couldn't help but laugh. "Why don't you worry about yourself first?" she said.

"Huh?" Heart asked.

"I'm just saying," Ruby said, "if you are so hard core about love, why don't you look for love yourself? I appreciate your help, but I think that this has just taught me that I should work more on my own."

Heart looked very thoughtful for a moment, looking like she was raking her brain.

"How Bearrible!" Teddie's voice suddenly yelled! Everyone turned to see Teddie standing in the doorway, looking mighty miffed! "How could you have a Group Date without me!?"

"Oh no," everyone else said.

* * *

_**Author's Note: This was another idea that was just too obvious. The Group Date Cafe was easily one of the most iconic moment from Persona 4, so much that they brought it back in the crossover game, Persona Q. So, how could I not bring it up, especially with the idea of Heart helping Ruby on her 'love quest.'**_

_**In terms of the characters I chose, it was pretty much spontaneous for the most part. I knew I wanted to give more time to Orie, considering I actually really do like Orie (she's so cute) and I figured she'd handle this maturely, and the same thing goes for Seth, only with him being more of a humorous deadpan character. The others were just natural choices for me. It's a bit hard to exactly explain why I made some of the character interactions that I did, because it more or less just sort of grew from what I understand about the cast, and how they would react to the given situation.**_

_**Also, quick bit of trivia you may or may not have noticed, is I've begun having the P4 cast referring to most of the characters with "Chan" at the end of their names, showing they've begun to get on a more casual relationship with each other. Nothing major, just something I felt worth noting.**_

_**I also HAD to bring up the fact that Heart and Ragna had actually gone on a date before. Yes, this is an actual thing that happened in a minor crossover, but sadly it is incredibly hard to find, with the most I had discovered being on TVTropes. But it was something that when I found it, I knew I had to bring up! It was too, too good to just ignore!**_

_**Another moment I felt was good to comment on is the interactions between Weiss and Yosuke. I feel that these two would be the ones that would bump heads quite often, as you might have already been able to tell given their past moments together. I'm actually surprised that they haven't had any direct interactions in the game itself.**_

_**I will admit, I initially had them as a pairing. I know that some people might find that an odd choice, and there was a part of me saying that it was a weird concept from the start. I figure by now that making them more like friends with opposite personalities would be a better choice. It's just gonna be a process knowing how stubborn these two are.**_

_**Not much else to say on this story, aside from it was just another natural idea that sort of grew out based on understanding the characters and how they would interact. Something that I feel very much is along the lines of how it went in Persona Q. Nothing major, just a moment to see the differing cast interact in a funny situation.**_

_**With all that said, Cure Crystal has asked me a question, and I'll gladly answer it right here, and I'll definitely keep your other story suggestion in mind ;) This will also be something I'll be happy to do in the future in the event I get asked more questions. So feel free to ask me!**_

_**Now the question was if I'm theorizing about the next Season 2 DLC characters for Blazblue Cross Tag Battle, and honestly, I can't say I am. Well, to be more accurate, it's more like I can't say for certain who will get in or not.**_

_**Starting first, in case you mean if I'm thinking about what the next franchise might be, I can safely say I'm not theorizing about that. Honestly it's just because I have no clue what the next one could be. Although I can say that I do have a few ideas that have been circulating around that I think will NOT get in, and that's completely due to the color of the Keystone, which is this very distinct, almost silver or white, azure blue color.**_

_**Some people might say that isn't a lot to go off of, but when you account for previous franchises and their Keystone colors, it actually says quite a lot. RWBY = Red, Blazblue = (no duh) Blue, UNIST = Purple, Persona 4 = Yellow, and Arcana Heart = Pink. It really does say a lot on the surface alone.**_

_**As for which suggestion I think it **_**could **_**be, well it could be any number of things you could easily find other people theorizing about online in videos and such. Dengeki Bunko? Senran Kagura? Fate/Stay Night? Could be any of them, and I personally have no clue which, if any of them, it could be.**_

_**Aside from that, if you're wondering about characters from the already existing franchises, well that's hard to say, because there are plenty of characters that could easily make the cut. Chaos, Hilda, or even Wagner from UNIST, Sho Minazuki or the other cast members of Persona 3 from Persona 4 Arena, and freaking ANYBODY from Blazblue. Any of them could get in, but I figure it'll be only a few more characters from each franchise, maybe anywhere from one to three more each, because ArcSystem shouldn't make us question why we own the previous games if literally EVERYBODY from those games are playable in BBTAG.**_

_**I would also love to see more characters from RWBY get in like Team JNPR, Cinder Fall, Qrow Branwen, many of them. But that would require more time given in order to create totally new sprites and animations from scratch, which is probably the main reason why Team RWBY are the only playable characters as of now.**_

_**And in terms of Arcana Heart, well it's pretty easy to theorize by now given that only Heart Aino herself has been announced. Saki? Most definitely. Maori, Lilica, Kamui? All safe bets. I'd even go so far as to say that Weiss (The Arcana Heart one not the RWBY one, stay with me) and Scharlachrot from Arcana Heart 3 could most likely get in there.**_

_**And in case you're wondering if this'll affect the story? Not really. As you can see, I've already begun including characters from outside the game, and the same can easily be said for those that'll be from the next franchise. And I'll tell you now, that "Attack of the Cameos" joke will probably be the only time you see a character from outside the game's franchises entirely, simply because that was a scenario I knew I wanted to do from the start upon hearing that all of them were franchises the director of the game itself said he would not mind featuring.**_

_**I know that I rambled a bit there, but I hope that helped to cover all the bases and address what you were wondering. In any case, I just wanted to say thanks to those readers that have been giving me support! It's been a lot of fun creating these one-shots, and they have been among the most fun things I've written thus far, considering I really don't have to overthink anything. It means a lot to see the amount of support I've gotten within just a few days of starting this up, and I can only hope that I continue to do more and satisfy my readers in the future!**_

_**So thank you all so much for reading, let me know any more suggestions you guys have in mind, and I'll see you all next time!**_


	8. Meet The Parents

Orie Ballardiae and Weiss Schnee easily bonded together when they had first met back in the Phantom Field. Their similar styles and fighting techniques, all the way down to their choice of weapon being a rapier, definitely meshed well together. So it was only natural that the two of them saw it fit to use each other as sparring partners. And on a calm day like this one, the both of them took the opportunity to use the training area kindly gifted to them by Mitsuru to test their metal.

For several minutes straight, the sounds of clashing metal was all that could be heard! The two were darting back and forth, stabbing and swiping at one another at plenty of intervals! Weiss was not using a single projectile attack from Myrtenaster's Dust supply, preferring to keep the fight fair, as Orie had no such capabilities.

A few hits from one to another came through, being simple jabs so as not to deal actual physical harm, but for the most part the whole battle was even. The Purifying Executor and the Young Ice Queen were equally skilled, and not a single one of them were able to get a leg up over the other. Before long they locked blades with each other, before jumping back and putting them at their sides!

"You are doing quite well Weiss," Orie said. "I truly wouldn't have expected any less of you."

"Yes," Weiss replied. "The same can easily be said for you too, Orie. In many respects I find that the two of us are counterparts. We've both dedicated our lives to combating the evil of our respective worlds, whether they be Grimm or Voids, and we both utilize the same fighting techniques."

"Indeed," Orie said. "The resemblance between the both of us is uncanny. Although, to be fair, you at least had the luxury of being raised by your parents. The Licht Kreis raised me due to me losing my parents at an early age."

"I know Orie," Weiss said, looking downtrodden. "But I wouldn't exactly call me being raised by my parents as a 'luxury.'"

Orie gained a guilty look. "I-I'm sorry Weiss," she said. "I forgot."

"No, you're fine," Weiss replied.

She couldn't help but smile. It was refreshing to train with somebody that she found herself so like to in many respects. While in her heart she did long for the unique nature of her teammates, a fact she would never willingly admit, she did enjoy having somebody easier to relate to, like Orie.

"Now then," Weiss said, flicking her ponytail. "What say we test out that 'Thanatos' of yours against my own summons."

Orie looked confused for a moment. "Are you sure?" she asked.

"Positive," Weiss replied. "I'm itching to see how your ability compares to my own. Fighting style is one thing, but powers are another."

Orie couldn't help but smile again. "If you insist," she said.

The both of them held their respective rapiers ahead, looking to each other with determined expressions as they felt their EXS or Semblance flow through their bodies! However, nothing happened. For several seconds they merely held their weapons outward, waiting for their abilities to activate, yet received nothing in return.

"Uh..." Weiss said. "I don't suppose you're having any more luck than I am, are you?"

"This... this isn't possible," Orie said in confusion. "I can feel my EXS, but I can't use it. What's happened?"

"See?" a new voice said. "It's just as I figured."

The two girls turned to see a newcomer approaching, alongside their "mentor" of sorts Mitsuru Kirijo, leader of the Kirijo Group and their Shadow Operatives. The girl standing with her was a young woman, with long pink hair that looked distinctly bored beneath her spectacles, as she merely scribbled on a tablet, whilst sucking on a lolipop.

A factor of interest was the pair of cat ears that matched the pink color of her hair, and not one, but two matching tails that left her back, meaning she was either a Faunus or a Beastkin. But upon further inspection, the type of jacket she was wearing seemed to match up with the type worn by Taokaka or Jubei, meaning she was most likely a Beastkin from the same world as Noel, Ragna, Mai, and so on.

But what truly got the Heiress and Executor to start flushing, was the lack of modesty that this girl possessed! Not only was the jacket so open that it gave off her entire torso, just _barely _being closed enough to conceal her chest, but her pants were hanging low enough to the point that they got a front row seat to the pair of black underwear she was wearing underneath them! Did this girl just not care!?

"Weiss, Orie," Mitsuru said, gesturing to the girl beside her, "this is Kokonoe Mercury, a scientist from the 7th Agency, a group from a parallel world. She had offered to come research the differences between our worlds, and I was offering to give her a tour around mine."

"Uh... hello," the girls said, trying to hide their embarrassment.

"You - ahem! - you said something," Weiss said, "about figuring something? Does that have to do with why Orie and I cannot use our powers?"

"Correct," Kokonoe replied. "I had a feeling that, from what Mitsuru had described to me, this world may have a dampener on it."

"Dampener?" Orie asked.

"Don't repeat what I say," Kokonoe said. "It'll only leave you looking intellectually ignorant."

Orie looked like she got socked in the gut! "Oh," she said. "I-I'm sorry."

"Hey!" Weiss said. "That was awfully rude."

"I'm merely stating the facts," Kokonoe shrugged. "But if you don't want to hear what I have to say about my research, I'll simply go on my way."

"No," Mitsuru said, "that's fine Kokonoe. Please, continue."

"Very well," Kokonoe said. "Like I was saying before I was interrupted, there seems to be a common link between all of our worlds when it comes to how our abilities are accessed. While their fundamental properties, and how one can even come to access them, are as diverse as their names, Drive, Persona, Semblance, EXS, Arcana, and so on, they all have a link, which is down to them being accessed by the spiritual properties of their user."

"Call it Aura, Ki, Chakra, Chi, Mana, what have you, that is most commonly the way that one can come to access such abilities. However, this earth has a particular lack of Aura for one to access their powers. While worlds such as the one myself, or Weiss, or Orie come from are abundant enough with Aura to the point that you can normally use your powers whenever you want, the only way that you can access your powers in this earth are under specific circumstances, such as the Dark Hour or the TV World. Which by themselves, are pocket universes that grow from the pure spiritual energy of this world, and are not a normal part of this world altogether."

"So you're saying," Weiss said, "that we just can't use our powers in this world, period?"

"Have you been able to before?" Kokonoe asked.

"Well," Orie replied, "we haven't really had a reason to try before. Considering the fact that the biggest threat this world has are Shadows, with the Dark Hour no longer a factor, the only way we'd be in trouble is if we were sucked to the TV World for some reason."

"Well there you have it," Kokonoe said. "I think it's safe to say that my studies have proven successful. If that'll be all here, I think that I would like to go and study those machines you created, Miss Kirijo. I would like to see how they compare to my previous creation."

"Of course, Kokonoe," Mitsuru nodded. "Just follow me. Weiss, Orie, I hope this was informative for the both of you. I'll see you later."

"Yeah, see you," Weiss waved. Both she and Orie could only watch as Mitsuru lead the pink haired, cat girl away. Orie was merely wondering how to feel, whilst Weiss herself was in no uncertain terms, peeved off.

Orie and Weiss moved to a lounge positioned somewhere in the Group's facility, waiting for some of their companions to arrive. Weiss was spending her time pacing in agitation, still peeved off by Kokonoe's attitude. Orie smirked at the sight, finding the biggest difference between herself and Weiss, that being the Ice Queen's temper, quite entertaining.

"Who in the world does that girl think she is!?" Weiss asked angrily. "That attitude on her! And for Heaven's sake, would it kill her to pull up her pants!? What, does her tails get in the way of her wearing them properly!? Just put holes in the back and move on! Honestly, that belt is just pointless!"

"I know," Orie said. "But just please calm down, okay?"

"You can't tell me that girl didn't get you steamed?" Weiss asked. "Especially with how she flat out insulted you to your face!"

"I know," Orie said, "I'm not saying it didn't. But we can't help people's nature."

"Is it that simple?" Weiss replied. "I mean, we don't know much about her. It's just the first impression that really got me."

"Do you have room to talk?" Orie asked. "I mean, you've told me before that you were outright 'insufferable' at the start of your time?"

"I am not disagreeing," Weiss replied. "But I'm older and wiser now."

"That all happened a few months ago," Orie said.

"A lot can happen in months," Weiss replied.

"What's this about now?" Yosuke's voice asked. Sure enough, he, along with Makoto, and Ruby arrived in the lounge. Weiss called Ruby to come over, and Orie insisted that she bring Yosuke so that he and Weiss can please get along more. Makoto was a new case.

"This girl that Mitsuru introduced us to," Weiss replied. "Some scientist from this 'Agency' that has been studying the other worlds."

"Oh..." Makoto said. "You mean Kokonoe?"

"You know her?" Orie asked.

"Yeah," Makoto replied. "We worked in the past."

"Is that you're here for?" Weiss asked.

"Not really," Makoto shrugged. "Came here because Yosuke was heading out and I figured, why not?"

"The both of you seem to be together a lot," Orie said.

"What can I say?" Yosuke asked. "She's like... the only person that doesn't take every opportunity to shove a jab at me."

"So tell me about this Kokonoe girl," Ruby asked curiously.

"She's a Beastkin, like me," Makoto replied. "You remember Jubei from the Phantom Field?"

"You mean the giant talking cat?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah," Makoto replied. "Him."

"What?" Yosuke said. "Is he her dad or something?"

Makoto gave a big, old smirk in response. Yosuke and the girls could only look at Makoto with growing faces of concern, confusion, or even fear.

"No," Yosuke said.

"Yeah," Makoto replied. "That's right."

"Wha... what...?" Weiss asked. "But... how... human-looking girl with... just... giant cat...!"

"That would make as much sense," Ruby said, "is if Jubei was Blake's dad!"

"Here, I've got pictures," Makoto replied.

"Pictures?" Yosuke asked fearfully.

Makoto pulled up some pictures on her phone and gathered everyone close to look. What they saw was Jubei, Kokonoe, and some totally human woman.

"That's Kokonoe with Jubei," Makoto said, "and her mom, Nine."

Everyone turned white as sheets and were now looking outright mortified as the only explanations came to a head!

"Hold... hold up..." Yosuke said. "Don't tell me. That Nine woman had to... with Jubei... to make..."

"Nope! Nope! Nope!" Weiss said, ripping at her hair!

"Wha-wha-wha...?" Ruby wondered.

"No..." Orie said simply. "That... it isn't..."

"What in the actual hell!?" Yosuke yelled. "How... how is... how the hell is that...!?"

"That ain't how some Faunus are born in your world?" Makoto asked curiously.

"Of course not!" Weiss yelled, getting right in Makoto's face, causing the Beastkin some concern.

"We don't even have any talking animals in our world!" Weiss yelled. "So how would... agh I'm getting mental images in my head I can't get out!"

"Wait a second," Yosuke said. "Please... Makoto, tell me you weren't-?"

"I shall choose to leave that ambiguous," Makoto said mischievously.

"Don't do that!" Ruby said.

"Can you not question my conception?" Kokonoe asked. The scientist came out from a side room and the group all looked at her in fear!

"W-we didn't-!" Orie said. "I... I apologize for inadvertantly insulting you. But you must understand for us, something like this is... abnormal."

"I gathered," Kokonoe said. "However, I cannot say I'm unused to it."

"Sorry," Ruby said again.

Kokonoe merely shrugged as she walked past. The others that had not met her yet were able to get a sense of the cold aura that Weiss and Orie had experienced earlier.

"Wow," Yosuke said. "Is that what got you so angry?"

"Yeah," Weiss said. "Yes it was."

"She was like a mixture of Blake and Weiss combined," Ruby said.

"Don't compare me with her!" Weiss said.

"Hey," Makoto said, "wanna show Yu, Heart, and the others this?"

"Are you sure it's right to laugh like that?" Ruby asked.

"After seeing your reactions," Makoto said, "yes. Yes I do."

Not long after, everyone met up at Junes and had the reactions you would naturally expect.

"So Yu," Makoto said, "what do you think of that?"

"... My brain..." Yu said, "cannot... comprehend..."

"I think we broke him," Ruby said.

"I want a cat baby!" Heart said.

"No! No you do not!" Yosuke said.

"Aw!" Heart said, slumping over. "Fine. At least I got a replacement."

"Replacement?" Weiss asked.

"Yup!" Heart replied happily.

Upon convenient timing, Blake walked past with a book in her hand.

"Come here kitty!" Heart called happily.

"Oh God no!" Blake said, promptly running off!

"Wanna see how far we can keep this joke up?" Makoto asked.

"I think we should've stopped after," Weiss said, "zero."

"You're no fun sometimes," Makoto said.

* * *

_**Author's Note: This was a suggested idea that came to me from a guest user, the same one that recommended the format I've been using since, by splitting up character dialogue into separate paragraphs. They seemed like casual suggestions, but I figured they would be funny enough to put into a story.**_

_**This shot was done by combining two suggestions together. One being people reacting to Nine and Jubei having a child, and the second one being characters not having powers in the Persona universe. So I put the two together into this idea.**_

_**The idea of why characters could use Personas outside the TV World was an idea that readily came to mind. What was the limitations behind how a character could use a Persona? Especially since you now have Persona 3 and Persona 4 taking place in the same universe thanks to Persona 4 Arena, meaning stuff like the Dark Hour and such had to be accounted for. So by my own casual thought process, I was able to deduce that stuff like Semblances or EXS and the like, are all linked in by a person's soul energy, for lack of a better term, I had Kokonoe state, like, five. And the Persona universe just simply doesn't have enough soul energy outside of the Dark Hour or TV World for them to use Personas at any given point.**_

_**Did I necessarily **_**have _to explain this? Not really. Especially not for a story like this where stuff like plot does not matter. But I still felt it was an interesting idea to explore, and served as the means to have the characters meet and see how Kokonoe works._**

**_Not much else really that needs to be said. The characters' reactions to Kokonoe's conception kinda speaks for itself. Just a fun little suggestion I felt was worth showing._**

**_Oh, and by the way, in case I gave Kokonoe out of character behavior, I do apologize. I did try looking into her biography before this, so I hope I didn't do too terribly with her. As I have stated before, Blazblue is the franchise I'm the least familiar with._**

_**One more thing before we head out, is some feedback I'd received from a user called 'Esteban' who mentioned in my earlier inclusions with Seth, I might have given him some OOC behavior too. And for that I do feel a smidgen bit guilty, given that I do like him as a character, but just failed to really understand him as much. Thankfully by later chapters I think I'd just abandoned that idea and had him more chatty. But I do appreciate the feedback, particularly when it comes to the comments on the Ruby and Hyde pairing.**_

_**With that out of the way, thank you for reading, as always! And feel free to leave me any more suggestions that come to mind! Until then, see you next time!**_


	9. For The Prince's Affections

Being a clique of mostly adolescents, knowing those that had their own forms of benefits for the group would certainly come in handy. Weiss did not fit that mold unfortunately given that her family, the owners of the Schnee Dust Company, were not entirely fond of Weiss splurging her money haphazardly. Yosuke was a bit better, given his father was the manager of the mall Junes, meaning that not only did all of their acquaintances have a good shot at finding more good prices, and even get a spot to hang out whenever they have the time. But a truly good one was Heart, whose family owned their own bakery, and delivered some fierce comfort food!

Case in point, as today Chie and the other girls from the Investigation Team stopped by the bakery and grabbed a huge box of assorted sweets! While Chie classified herself as a girl whose taste was more attuned to savory over sweet, being a carnivore above all else loving practically any sort of meat, she was never one to turn down a great doughnut or cinnamon roll or beignets. She took some fierce, and rather untidy bites of a chocolate doughnut, getting her mouth's surroundings all filthy, giggling to herself all the while!

"Aw~ I can't believe it!" she said happily. "How does Heart-chan make food taste this good!?"

"You use love as an ingredient!" Heart called from the kitchen. "Obviously!"

"How does that not surprise me?" Naoto (Shirogane) asked.

"It is Heart-chan we're talking about here," Rise said, with a shrug.

For several minutes, the girls merely busied themselves with casual conversation, until the door opened to reveal Yu, Hyde, and Yosuke entering.

"Hey there," Hyde greeted warmly.

"Hey guys!" Yukiko replied. "How are you all?"

"Doing well," Yu replied.

"Just picking up some snacks," Yosuke added. "Ruby challenged me to MVC3, and I am determined not to lose!"

"He's going to lose," Hyde and Yu said.

"Guh!" Yosuke said, feeling the brunt of that comment. "No faith from you!" He grumpily turned his head, and spotted the pastries the girls were eating. His eyes glazed over as he caught sight of a lovely, glazed croissant. "Ooh! Give!" he said.

"Hey, what're you doing!?" Chie said, catching his hand. "You came here to buy your own food, right? No way you can just steal mine!"

"I thought we were sharing?" Rise said.

"You started it!" Yosuke said. "You totally swiped my egg rolls from me the other day!"

Chie's face reddened. "W-well..." she said. "You were just eating it so slowly, I didn't want it to go to waste... Guh! Fine! But just the one! Go and buy your own food!"

"Thank you!" Yosuke said.

"Yosuke, you coming?" Hyde asked. While Yosuke and Chie were busy, Hyde and Yu already got their order and were now ready to head out.

"Right behind you guys!" Yosuke said, holding his acquired croissant.

"See you around," Yu waved to the girls.

"Later senpai!" Rise said happily. She looked back at the table as the guys left, and noticed Chie's previous glee and happiness was now gone and replaced by a decidedly miffed expression. "You alright?" she asked.

"Yeah," Chie replied. "Just, Yosuke can be such a headache sometimes! He always knows just how to annoy me!"

"You sure complain about him a lot," Yang said. She stepped over to their table from the front counter, having made her own order upon slipping past the boys as they left.

"Oh, Yang-chan," Chie said. "Well, don't take it the wrong way, we're still really good friends. He just frustrates me sometimes."

Yang began giggling, much to the others' confusion.

"What?" Chie asked.

"You've got a crush on him, don't you?" Yang asked.

All the girls of the Investigation Team exclaimed in shock, Chie hopping to her feet as the loudest of all! "Wh-wh-what are you talking about!?" she yelled.

"C'mon," Yang said. "It's pretty obvious. You spend almost as much time with him specifically as you do with Yukiko. You don't add the 'chan,' 'san,' or 'kun,' to his name unless you're really annoyed with him, then it's always, 'Hanamura-kun.' And even when you are frustrated it is usually from an endearing place, I can tell."

"That doesn't-! How-!" Chie said, unable to form complete sentences in her state.

"I must admit senpai," Naoto said. "There are signs."

"Not you too Naoto-kun!" Chie said.

"I'm not insinuating anything," Naoto said. "I'm merely stating that there is evidence to support an attraction."

"Come on!" Chie said, stamping her foot on the ground.

"Um, senpai?" Rise said. "There was one time that you guys looked kinda like you might... you know."

"What?" Chie asked.

"Remember?" Rise asked. "Back when we were in the TV World for that first 'Grand Prix' thing, with Labrys? It was after you guys had fought? You had told him to go on ahead, after you lost the fight, and said that you believed in him. And then, heehee, he grabbed your nose and told you it was small!"

"But that wasn't-!" Chie said.

"Ooh~" Yang said. "Cute. So it looks like he reciprocates."

"Yang-chan!" Chie said. "Honest to goodness, I will not hesitate to kick you through that door! I have no interest in Hanamura-kun, and I know for a fact that he does not have a crush on me! We're just friends, got that!"

"It's not like I like him or anything!" Yang said mischievously, slamming her hands on the table as she mimicked a typical tsundere, with a shit-eating grin on her face.

To make matters even more embarrassing for the carnivorous girl, was the fact that Yukiko began having another laughing fit! "Chie!" she said as she giggled. "Your face! It's really... red!"

Chie put on a powerful pout, as she took the box of pastries that the group had been sharing, and stomped towards the exit!

"Wait! Where are you going?" Rise asked.

"Away!" Chie said. "No more snacks for you!"

"You can't just-! We were sharing!" Naoto said.

The girls of the Investigation Team headed out, as Yang was left by herself, laughing happily.

Inside the kitchen, a curious onlooker watched with an almost catlike expression of intrigue in her bright red eyes, as she helped Heart to bake more food for the shop. "They are quite noisy," she said.

"I know they are Weiss," Heart said. "But that's only because they're friends! Which is why I say you should spend more time with us!"

The Valkyria, known only as Weiss, smiled. "Perhaps," she said. "I can't deny the benefits that might be with spending time with you all. It would certainly help me to associate with those around my age."

"In hindsight," Noel said, "I think it's mainly people from your worlds. Everyone where we're from is a bit more deadpan."

"And it stinks," Makoto said, throwing her arms around Heart and Weiss. "I wish more people from our world were more like you all!"

Noel could only laugh at her friend's antics. She and Makoto had visited the Celestial Union of this world, in order to study for the NOL of their own world. But as she saw the rest of Team RWBY enter and interact with Yang, with Heart delivering their order to them, Noel recalled what the Investigation Team and Yang had been talking about earlier about Yosuke.

"Hey Makoto?" Noel asked.

"Yeah?" Makoto replied.

"You know," Noel said, "with everything the others were talking about, I couldn't help but realize that you've been spending a lot of time with Yosuke."

"Huh?" Makoto said. "Oh, yeah. I mean, I just think he's pretty cool is all."

"Say what!?" Weiss Schnee yelled from the other side of the room, having apparently overheard their conversation. "Yosuke!? Yosuke Hanamura!? Cool!?"

"Hey!" Makoto said firmly. "That's pretty rude! I mean, have ya ever bothered spendin' time with Yosuke, Weiss?"

Weiss looked away. "Uh..." she said. "I mean, I've... needed to get to it since we continue to butt heads, yet we don't know much about each other."

Makoto smiled smugly. "So," she said, "that means that ya don't know much about him at all. Meanin' you can't say he's not cool."

Weiss could only mumble as she went back to the rest of her team. Noel looked astonished by how Makoto was able to jump back to Yosuke's defense like that.

"Okay," Noel said, "now you do have me curious."

"What?" Makoto asked.

"Makoto..." Noel said. "Do you... uh..."

"I believe," Weiss the Valkyria said, "what Noel is trying to ask, is if you have any romantic or sexual connections to this Yosuke Hanamura."

Makoto's face turned beat red instantaneously as Noel also looked to Weiss awkwardly, sputtering and unable to properly respond after how that just came out of nowhere! "Uh... W-Weiss," Noel said, "I-I mean I was... but you shouldn't have-!"

"What?" Weiss asked.

"What's up?" Heart asked.

"I do not have a crush on Yosuke!" Makoto said. That proved to be a mistake. Heart heard what she said and lit up as bright as a star!

"Oh no," Makoto said.

"Mako!" Heart said. "You have a crush on Yokee!?"

"N-no!" Makoto said. "I just said I didn't! I mean, yeah I think he's cool-! B-but that doesn't mean that I-! I barely even know him!"

Heart was not taking any of it. She was just giggling and practically dancing with excitement!

"Makoto," Noel said calmly, "if you like him, then why don't you ask him out and get to know him more?"

"N-no!" Makoto said. "Dating ain't my style, ya know? I-I can't just... No way! And besides, h-he's never had anything like me or Blake in his world before! He... he probably thinks I'm a freak or somethin'."

"Has he ever said that?" Heart asked.

"Huh?" Makoto replied.

"Has he ever called you a freak?" Heart asked. "Or, given you a reason to think you're weird cause' of your tail or your ears?"

"N-...No," Makoto replied, rubbing her arm, her face still tinted pink.

"Then in that case," Weiss said, "you have no reason to fear. You should merely convey your interest and ask to spend time with him on a 'date.'"

"That's still not it!" Makoto said. "I really... no, I don't have a crush." After she said that, the subject was dropped.

But all the while, Makoto could not deny that there was a part of her that really, _really _wanted to hang out with Yosuke. Perhaps... she really did have a crush? True, she really didn't know all that much about Yosuke at all. But perhaps she could get to know him more and see something really good on the other side.

It was all a little much for her to take in. She would need to talk to Chie before anything else happened. If it turned out Chie had a crush on him too, Makoto would need to know. Putting others first, that's what Makoto did.

On the other hand, would it be alright to be just a little bit selfish?

* * *

_**Author's Note: In comes another suggestion from Cure Crystal, and our second big ship pairing of the story - YosukeXMakoto! Could somebody think of ship names for this game's pairings, for those that are out there at least. I mean, if people (like yours truly) are going to bother pairing them together, then we need some real names for them!**_

_**Anyways, the Yosuke and Makoto pairing has been one of the other big pairings that has gotten some support out there. And, if you look hard enough, you can see why. During their in-game interactions, Makoto is one of the only characters to **_**not **_**outright insult Yosuke, just treated him with her usual bouncy personality. They are also among the only characters from different franchises to be shown directly with one another during the game's opening. Sadly they didn't have any major interactions during the P4A episode of the game's story mode, which would've been the icing on the cake.**_

_**All the same, I can't deny there's something I do kinda like about the pairing between the two and felt it was worth at least exploring for a bit. Also, there is something pretty cute about it.**_

_**This is also the first appearance of our second character from Arcana Heart NOT announced for Cross Tag Battle as of yet, Weiss! You will be seeing more of her in the future. Obviously.**_

_**Not much else to say aside from that, but thanks again for the many suggestions and continued support! As always, if you have any more let me know! As always, thank you for reading and until next time, take care!**_


	10. An Actor Takes A Rose In The Night

Linne was not the type of person to commonly let people know what was going on inside her head. Although on the surface, she tries her best to come off as considerate or intelligent, less the situation be dire and require her having to get dead set focused on her objectives, such as what happened back in the Phantom Field. But on normal occasions, she always looked to appear more intelligent than her otherwise childish form would suggest.

While she may come off as a girl of middle school age, anywhere from eleven to even thirteen years old, her spirit was actually that of an ancient woman who had been cursed to reincarnate into different bodies for generations. Every time she died, her soul went on to another host. For these reasons, she has become fairly adept at scanning the emotions of those she knows. Which is why, as she sees Hyde getting ready for a night out, she was one to pounce on the possibility that he had become infatuated!

Turns out, she was actually quite protective of her trusted bearer of the Indulgence of Insulation. Even before she had officially befriended him, she was not keen on seeing him with other girls. Case in point was when she had seen Hyde leaving school with Orie the day the Executor had begun attending, and Linne felt very angered over this fact, which even left her confused.

Regardless, whilst Linne's relationship with Orie has significantly cooled ever since they began spending more time together, the very idea that Hyde could possibly be on a date, was enough to get Linne ready to bust out No Name and Nameless to begin hacking some heads!

"So..." Linne said, dangerously quiet as she watched Hyde fixing his hair in the mirror (a scientific impossibility). "Where do you think you're going tonight?"

"Huh?" Hyde replied. "Oh, just out. That's all."

"You look... pretty nice," Linne said.

"Hm?" Hyde wondered. He looked down at himself, just out of curiosity. He was no longer wearing his typical uniform he wore... well just about everywhere. Instead he was wearing a red button-up shirt, underneath a black jacket, with a pair of black slacks and his usual boots. Nothing that special.

"Well," he said, "I thought it would be nice to change things up. You're not... mad, are you?"

"No," Linne said. "Not at all. Just wondering what the occasion was or you dressing up."

"Uh-huh," Hyde said skeptically. "Well, to answer your question, I'm just going out with Ruby. We're gonna see that new movie that came out recently, you know the one. That's all. Orie should be here before I leave to keep an eye on everything."

"I don't need a babysitter!" Linne said, slamming her hands on the table. "I'm over a hundred years old!"

"And yet," Hyde said, "you still squeal over ice cream and get jealous of me hanging out with other girls like a typical younger sister at the age of eleven."

Linne felt like it would've been better had Hyde just smashed a glass vase over her head! The indignity of how true those words were practically undermined everything that she saw herself as to the point she just laid her head on the table in utter defeat! Humiliated... she thought. Absolutely humiliated.

Hyde laughed. "In all seriousness," he said, "I also just don't trust you to ensure that Waldstein doesn't destroy anything trying to get food. Frankly, while you both are better at cooking than the likes of Noel or Yukiko, you still can't really make enough for yourself and I didn't think of grabbing anything that's simple to make. So Orie will be here to get you both food and just make sure you don't burn down the house."

Linne sat back up. While it wasn't an ideal response, it was at least better than Hyde treating her like a child. That's when another thought came to mind. "What about your doll?" she asked.

"You mean Vatista?" Hyde asked. "Well that's the thing, I can't really find her. She said she wanted to meet those Labrys and Aigis girls from the Kirijo Group or something, but I haven't seen her since. If she does come back, let me know, okay?" Linne replied with a simple thumbs up.

Not long later, Orie arrived and Hyde stepped out for the night. Orie entered the living room where she found Linne still in the same spot that Hyde had just left her.

"Hello Linne," she said. "How are you this evening?"

"Fine," Linne replied. "In fact, I was just leaving."

"Huh?" Orie asked. "Leaving? W-what do you mean?"

"I want to see what Hyde is up to," Linne said. "I don't like the idea of him going out alone with that Ruby girl."

"What do you mean?" Orie asked. "Hyde and Ruby are friends. And aren't you and Ruby friends too?"

Linne stopped in her tracks, looking at the floor. Truth be told she wasn't that familiar with Ruby at all. It was not enough of a reason for her to stop being suspicious, yet it wasn't exactly a reason to be suspicious at all either.

Hyde did speak fondly of Ruby. They were about as close to being best friends as you could get. It wasn't so much that Linne didn't trust Hyde being alone with her, it was just Linne sincerely did not _like_ him being alone with her.

"I just... want to see what happens for myself, is all," Linne said. "To make sure that nothing happens."

Orie looked at the pint sized girl with interest. A smile grew on her face as she came to realize exactly what she must have meant. While Orie didn't know the truth about Linne's reincarnations, she did see her typically behaving abnormal for her age. So something like this, seemed the most natural thing that Orie had ever seen Linne do aside from whenever she was around anything sweet.

"Okay," Orie said. "I understand. Allow me to lock up behind us, and I will be happy to accompany you on your mission."

Linne aimed a look at her with an eyebrow raised so high that it threatened to blast off her forehead. "What?" she asked. "You're coming with me?"

"Of course," Orie replied. "Truth be told, I am curious about just how this date between Ruby and Kido goes."

"It's not a date!" Linne said, waving her arms around. "D-don't... *ahem!* don't call it that."

Orie could barely keep herself from giggling, as she locked up the house behind them and proceeded to follow Linne to where it was exactly that Hyde and Ruby said they would meet up. The night had settled over Kanzakai, and thankfully it wasn't the Hollow Night. There was little to no traffic in the roads, or people on the sidewalks. Everything was quiet and calm.

As Orie and Linne hurried down the road, they spotted Hyde as he continued on his walk, simply seeming to be enjoying the cool air that had turned into a nice breeze. The girls kept their distance, as they soon saw Hyde light up as he waved to Ruby approaching. She was wearing a different outfit than usual, instead of her typical clothes, she was wearing the set she called her 'Huntress' outfit. She ran over to Hyde, and they both grabbed both hands as they met up. Linne felt something deadly crack inside of her, and instantly felt the intent to kill reach close to its pique, before the two of them let go of their hands and begin walking side by side.

Linne shook her head, trying to fight off that lethal intent she had felt for that hot second! _Come on you moron,_ she thought. _Get it together! Y-you're just protective of that boy! You see him like a son, not like... anything else._

"Something wrong Linne?" Orie asked, having begun walking again.

"Uh... no," Linne said.

"Well come on!" Orie said. "We've gotta hurry or else we'll lose them!"

The two now really began their search, as they saw Hyde and Ruby continue walking down the streets of Kanzakai together, the two merely talking to one another. Linne felt an odd feeling on her face as she watched the two of them merely talking to one another. The smiles on their faces and the way they seemed so animated, was enough to almost bring a smile to her face. Almost, because the moment she saw them take a sharp turn and enter a restaurant, all bets were off and she was nearly filled with bloodthirsty rage again!

"What!?" she said. "What the hell are they doing!? They told me they were heading to a movie!"

"Come on!" Orie said, grabbing Linne's hand and following them inside! She hated to admit it, but she would be lying if she said she wasn't totally invested in seeing where this went, as she had stars in her eyes as she continued to track behind them!

The two slipped in the restaurant behind Hyde and Ruby, remaining totally out of sight as they did so. The two had just finished ordering their food at the counter, and had moved off to the side to continue talking. They didn't bother sitting down, allowing Linne to feel some relief in the idea that they might not be staying to eat. But that still left her wondering just what they were doing.

"What are you doing?" she then heard. She turned to see Yukiko, Chie, and Noel sitting at a table right behind them. "Perfect!" she said.

She and Orie hopped underneath the table, to better stay out of sight of both Hyde and Ruby! The girls sitting at the table looked to one another with confused expressions, before looking underneath the table. "I ask again," Chie said, "what are you doing."

Orie couldn't help but laugh at the ludicrousness of the situation they were in, as she gave her reply. "We're spying on Hyde and Ruby," she said. "Look natural, don't give us away!"

The girls at the table looked to each other with looks of silent delight! "No kidding?" Chie asked, keeping her head above the table. "Kido-kun and Ruby-chan are on a date?"

"It's not a date!" Linne said in irritation!

"We're just seeing where it goes," Orie said. "As you can tell, we're both very curious."

"Count us in!" Chie said. "We'll follow you guys when they're done."

Yukiko and Noel were too happy to speak, as they nodded happily!

Soon enough, the food for Hyde and Ruby came out and the both of them grabbed their bags and made their way back out. With the both of them gone, the girls at the table (both above and underneath) hurried after them! The five kept their distance as they watched as the Rose Red and Unknown Actor merely continued walking, eating their food as they moved.

"Where do you think they're going?" Noel asked.

"They said," Linne replied, "they were supposed to be going to a movie. But now I'm not so sure."

"It's not that late," Orie said. "Didn't Hyde say the movie didn't start until seven? They still got about fifteen minutes before it starts."

"...Oh," Linne said.

"You didn't even think of that?" Yukiko asked.

"Shut up!" Linne said. "I was... distracted!"

"They left earlier," Noel said, "with the intent on eating. Oh it's so cute!"

"Don't call it cute!" Linne said.

As they walked, Seth and Naoto Kurogane passed by them all, waving casually as they did. Naoto had been discussing something with Seth, but whatever Naoto had been continuing to say was left forgotten as Seth seemed to notice something nearby. And not just nearby, but in a tree on the sidewalk.

With an eyebrow raised, Seth took out one of his daggers, the Eliminators, and tossed it into the tree! Surprised yelps came out as the three other members of Team RWBY, Blake, Weiss, and Yang all fell out of the tree, the one Eliminator clinking on the ground beside them. The girls that had been following Ruby and Hyde stopped in their tracks as they saw the members of Team RWBY falling on the ground in a heap!

"Woah," Naoto said. "You really are a ninja, aren't you?"

"What are you all doing?" Noel asked.

"We-! Uh-! The thing i-!" Weiss sputtered.

"We were spying on my sister," Yang said truthfully. "She told us she was going out with Hyde tonight, and like I was going to miss that!"

"So we naturally followed," Blake said. "Because, in all honesty, Weiss and I were definitely not going to want to miss that either."

"Well," Chie said, "you can feel free to come along! We've been following them too! Kurogane-kun, Seth-kun, you want to come along?"

"Uh... I don't know," Naoto said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I mean, it doesn't feel right just following them like this. What about you Seth? What do you think?"

He looked to Seth, who had proceeded to begin typing rapidly on his phone. "Uh, Seth?" Naoto asked. "What are you doing?"

"Texting the other guys," Seth said. "If we're going to follow them, we should have a fairly even balance of boys and girls."

"Say what?" Naoto asked. But it was too late. The message was sent. A whole team to follow Hyde and Ruby on their night out was steadily growing.

As the message was out and the wait for others to reply began, the others continued following Ruby and Hyde as they continued their walk. They had just finished their food, and sure enough, like Orie suggested, were headed towards the movie theater next. There was a large bit of annoyance by all that they couldn't quite hear what the both of them were talking about exactly, preferring to keep far enough away so as not to be noticed.

The two entered the theater, and the group all stopped outside. "Okay," Linne said. "The both of them are heading in. We know what movie they're seeing, so we can just follow them when everyone else arrives."

"Uh..." Noel said. "Isn't there a bit too many of us now as it is? They're bound to notice all of us following them."

"Don't worry," Linne said. "We'll keep hidden. I'll ensure it."

Soon enough, Jaune, Ren, Yu, and Yosuke all arrived in front of the theater. "Okay," Jaune said. "We're here!"

"You say that Ruby and Hyde are on a date?" Ren asked. "I wish to see."

"Not a date!" Linne said.

"Wait a minute," Chie said. "All four of you are seriously wanted to see their date as desperately as we did?"

"Sure enough!" Yosuke said. "The idea of seeing them on a date like this is too good to avoid!"

"...Fair enough..." Chie shrugged. She certainly wouldn't deny feeling the exact same way.

With that all behind them, the group of now going on fourteen got into the theater and snuck into the one where Ruby and Hyde had gone into. The both of them had already gone inside, so they only had to remain vigilant as they took their seats. Much to their disappointment, watching the movie itself was a very uneventful event. There was not a hint of romanticism between the both of them: No leaning her head on his shoulders, no him reaching around and holding her close, not even any kind of giggling between the two over the movie itself. It was all so... plain.

"Oh hi guys!" a very enthusiastic whisper said. Everyone looked to the side to see Heart standing next to them. Blake quickly pulled her down and held her next to the seat.

"What are you doing?" Blake asked.

"Watching a movie," Heart replied plainly. "I came here with Sa-Sa." She gestured to a seat nearby where Saki had been sitting, and was now looking at them curiously.

"But when I came back from the bathroom," Heart said, "I noticed you guys!"

"Well don't blow our cover," Yang said. "We're trying to spy on my sister's date with Hyde."

"Not a date!" Linne said fiercely, but remaining quiet.

But it turned out to be a massive mistake for Yang to divulge that information, as Heart began infinitely gasping! She then giggled happily as she ran back to her seat next to Saki!

"I think I've made a huge mistake," Yang said.

"You think?" Seth added.

The movie soon came to an end, as the large group hastily got out so as not to be noticed by Hyde or Ruby as they too left. Safely hiding behind a corner, the group watched as the two left the theater and went on their way. Just as the group was prepared to follow, the sound of Heart's voice got them to come to a halt!

"Hey guys! Wait!" she said. Everyone turned to see Heart standing behind them, dragging Saki along!

"What now Heart?" Weiss asked. "We're in the middle of something!"

"But we want to follow you!" Heart said.

"Seriously?" Naoto asked. "What lead to this?"

"Duh!" Heart said. "I was helping Rubes look for a boyfriend already! I gotta see how this plays out!"

"And you Saki?" Blake asked. "You're okay with this?"

"I..." Saki said. "I was convinced. I too want to see how this goes."

"Okay, fair enough!" Orie said. "Let's go! Come on, we'll lose them!"

"Yeah! Let's go!" Makoto yelled.

"Wait! What? How?" Linne said.

Sure enough, the Beastkin had snuck up on them and was now a part of the team!

"When did you get here?" Naoto asked.

"And how did you sneak up on us?" Yang asked. "We've got, like, three ninjas on our team."

"Don't worry bout' it!" Makoto said. "Heart told me to join you guys!"

"Yeah!" Heart said. "I was thinking this would help... motivate her."

"How do you mean motivate?" Yosuke asked.

Makoto could only giggle, a blush creeping on her cheeks. "Come on," she said, "like Orie said, we'll lose them!"

Now the continuously growing group hurried along, catching up with Ruby and Hyde as they continued walking. Much to Linne's annoyance, she realized quickly that they were not heading towards the house. Instead, they were merely just continuing to walk in the middle of the city.

But why? The movie was done. That was the whole reason they were out in the first place, wasn't it? The food was one thing, but at least it made sense. But now? They were just wasting time!

"Uh... Linne?" Orie asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. Fine. Perfect," Linne said. "Why do you ask?"

"Because... you just took out your weapons," Orie replied.

Sure enough, Linne looked down at her hands and found both No Name and Nameless gripped firmly in her grasp. She had no idea where she got them from, but hastily hid them back. "It... it's nothing," she said. "I'll be alright."

"Why does Linne seem so angry?" Makoto asked.

Orie giggled. "She's just protective of Hyde is all," she said.

"It's not that!" Linne said.

"Oh I get it," Yosuke chuckled. "She doesn't like the idea of Hyde getting cozy with another woman."

Linne took back out her blades as she stuck Yosuke with a deadly look! "What was that?" she said.

"N-nothing!" Yosuke said.

"You can't touch him," Makoto said, separating the two with her tail. "Cause' y'know it's true!"

"Can it!" Linne snapped.

"We're gonna lose them!" Yukiko said.

The group pressed on, despite Linne's anger. Soon enough, Hyde and Ruby had arrived in a park, and began walking down a trail that cut through the trees. The others hid nearby, and tried listening to what they were saying.

"That movie was so great, Hyde!" Ruby said.

"Yeah, it was good," Hyde replied. "I'm glad you liked it."

"If you don't mind me asking, Ruby, why did you come with me and not your teammates?"

"Well..." Ruby replied. "Let's just say that I am not the most comfortable watching that movie with them. They'll probably think I'm weird or something."

"Totally wrong," Yang said from the side. "We all know she's into romance fluff now. She's lying through her teeth."

"I hope it didn't bore you," Ruby told Hyde.

"Nah," Hyde replied. "In fact, I thought it was fun."

"Glad to hear it!" Ruby said.

"And I'm glad," Hyde said, "that I could help you enjoy your time."

Ruby giggled. "You really think about everyone else first," she said.

"I try," Hyde said. "It just does better for me to help others be happy, then worry about myself."

Ruby smiled for a moment, merely looking at him. "Put them first," she said, "and yourself second. Right?"

"Yeah," Hyde said. "Something like that."

The two passed by Ragna as they walked, the Bloodedge merely enjoying a time to himself as he walked. However, he soon caught sight of the multiple teens and such that were stalking the two. "Uh... the flying fuck are you all doing?" he asked.

"Spying on Ruby and Hyde," Seth replied honestly.

"Really?" Ragna asked. "Why the hell are you doing that?"

"Because," Yang said, "we want to see how my sister does on her first date! Obviously!"

"Not a freaking date!" Linne snapped. "Why are all of you calling it a date?!"

"Cause' it is one Linne-chan," Yukiko said. "The two of them are doing something together to enjoy themselves. That's a basic description of a date."

"Don't make me stab you..." Linne said.

Ragna looked at the group with a dumbfounded expression on his face. "You are all," he began, "complete, and utter, fucking idiots. All, like, twenty of you kids."

"Come on Ragna!" Noel said, grabbing his hand. "Come watch with us!"

"No!" Ragna said, already getting dragged along behind them. "Hey! Stop! Let me go goddammit!"

Before long, as Ruby and Hyde continued to walk, Ruby let loose a mighty yawn, and stumbled as she walked.

"You okay?" Hyde asked. "A little tired?"

"Yeah," Ruby said. "It's nothing. I'll be fine."

Hyde grabbed her hand, and lead her to a bench to have a seat. He sat close to her, and laid her head on his shoulder. "Just rest for a minute, okay?" he asked.

Ruby blushed as he held her close, but didn't have the energy to move. She laughed awkwardly. "This... is a little bit close, isn't it?" she asked. "Almost like we're..."

Hyde blushed, and suddenly moved Ruby off of him! "Uh... maybe you're right!" he said.

"Huh?" Ruby said, still blushing. "We-well it- I wasn't saying you don't need to-!"

"It's not that," Hyde said. "I just didn't think of that when I did it, I just did."

"What!?" Ruby said, sounding mighty offended. "You think it's weird? You think I'm some kid or something that you can't touch?"

"Where the hell did that come from!?" Hyde said. "We're like, practically the same age!"

"So why do you find it awkward?" Ruby asked.

"You're the one that told me it was awkward!" Hyde said.

The both of them were glaring at one another, as the others watched from the sidelines.

"Gosh," Jaune said. "It's almost like they're a real couple having an argument."

"It's so adorable!" Noel said happily.

Even Ragna could not come up with an insult as he watched.

Heart was so happy over all of this she couldn't even speak.

After a second, Ruby stopped glaring and began laughing. "Okay," she said. "Maybe you're right. Sorry. I've just... never been alone with a guy like this before."

Hyde looked stoic, before gaining another smile. "It's okay," he said. "I understand. I've hung out with some girls before, but I've never had anything like this happen."

"Never dated before?" Ruby asked.

"No," Hyde replied. "I've tried asking out a girl or two before, but got rejected."

Ruby gave him an encouraging pat. "I'm sure you'll make a great boyfriend," she said. "You told me I'll find the right guy, and you'll find the right girl too, I'm sure."

Hyde grinned. "Thanks," he said.

The two were silent for a moment, as they got back up and Hyde lead Ruby back home.

_How are they this oblivious!? _everyone thought in annoyance.

"Well," Ragna said, "that was... something."

"I'll admit," Saki said, "watching them was quite... endearing."

"We should probably take off," Orie said. "We need to get back to Hyde's house before he gets there, otherwise he'll wonder where we went."

"We'll head out too," Yang said. "We should get back to the dorm room before Ruby does."

"I hope you all enjoyed the show!" Yosuke said happily.

"Oh I did!" Noel said. "Quite a lot!"

"That was so great!" Yukiko added.

"You all are stupid," Linne said bitterly, grabbing Orie and dragging her along behind her.

Ren and Jaune chuckled at the sight, as they and the rest of the guys moved along. As they did, they noticed a big blush on Seth's face. "Seth?" Ren asked. "Are you alright?"

"That was..." Seth said slowly. "Too... sweet."

* * *

Linne and Orie arrived home before Hyde, sitting in the living room when he got back. "Hey you two," he said. "How was your evening?"

"It was well," Orie replied. "How did the movie go?"

"Great," Hyde replied. "Did Linne behave?" he added jokingly.

Linne remained quiet. "Uh... Linne?" Hyde asked.

"You are no longer allowed to go out with any girl, EVER," Linne said, shooting Hyde a deadly glare.

"What are you talking about?" Hyde asked.

"Did I stutter?" Linne asked. "I don't want you going out with any girls!"

"Jealous~" Hyde said.

"Go. Screw. Yourself," Linne said. She got up and went to her room, muttering that she had to feed Kuu.

Hyde looked to Orie, who merely gave an awkward smile. "You know what," Hyde said, "I don't want to know what that was about. I'm gonna get something to eat. You want anything?"

"I could eat," Orie replied. She watched Hyde whip up something, and noticed how he regained his great smile from earlier. _He has to figure it out, _she said. _Sooner or later._

* * *

**_Author's Note: Well this one took quite awhile to write! But, I wanted to write this one good since I really do like the RubyxHyde pairing and wanted to treat it right! Wanted to do the characters correctly. And I think I did this one really good!_**

**_This was a request by user, '3 Question Marks,' and I felt it would be a great piece to do in honor of hitting the double digits! This story was a lot of fun to do, just coming up with different characters to throw into the mix, and of course showcase Linne's overprotective nature of Hyde, as referenced by how she felt a large amount of disdain when she first saw Hyde with Orie during the 'Chronicle' sections of UNIB._**

**_I still wanted to play up the fact that Ruby and Hyde are not quite on romantic terms yet, but show themselves to still be great friends and have a good connection. But just given their natural personalities, they haven't quite caught on to their inner feelings. This seemed like a better idea than just jumping straight to the loving._**

**_Other than that, every other character appearance in this story was pretty natural. Heart obviously wanted to see how Ruby and Hyde could see each other, we know the rest of Team RWBY would want to watch, and Makoto had her own reasons for wanting to see things go down. Everyone else was either called in by those already involved, or had their own morbid curiosity._**

**_All the same, this was probably one of my favorite chapters to write. Like I said, I took my time with this one and soon made it into the longest chapter thus far, and I'm fairly proud with how it came out. I hope you did enjoy as well, and the amount of requests and feedback I've received has really made me motivated to keep this up!_**

**_Keep the requests coming, and of course thank you so much for reading, and I'll see you all next time! Take care!_**


	11. Puppies Solve Everything

Getting a chance to cuddle one adorable puppy dog was enough to melt Heart Aino's... uh, heart. But getting a chance to cuddle two? Abso-freaking-lutely - YES!

Heart was ecstatic beyond belief when she had been asked by Team RWBY to watch their dog, Zwei! In addition, she was also trusted with the dog Koromaru from the Shadow Operative guys! Score!

Now, she and Nora had the luxury of getting to cuddle two adorable dogs at a time! "Ugh!..." Heart said, as she laid on the ground with both dogs held close to her, nuzzling into her curiously and playfully! "I'm in fluffy heaven!"

"No fair!" Nora said, stealing Koromaru away! "You don't get both of them! I get one too!" Koromaru whimpered miserably at the unauthorized grabbing!

"Sorry No-Na!" Heart said. "I was just overwhelmed by the cuteness!"

"Oh I get that," Nora said. "But I'm saying, with the both of us, we have more than enough fuzzy to go around!"

Heart giggled as she sat up and continued to play with Zwei! "I'm so happy Team RWBY trusted us to watch Zwei for them! And the Shadow group guys let us take care of Koro-chan too!"

"Yeah!" Nora said, petting Koromaru's head. "But... do you get the impression, that we're being left out of something?"

"Huh? What do you mean?" Heart asked.

"I mean," Nora said, "both Team RWBY and the Shadow guys are gone, hence why they asked us to care of their dogs... and we know the Investigation Team were brought with them for whatever it is theyre doing... so do you think... something's going on...?"

The two girls merely looked to each other, before they both decided, "nah!"

The two continued caring for the dogs, as Jaune was merely trying to call Ruby in the lounge area. Ren and Pyrrha were sitting by, as well as Saki and Vatista. Turns out Hyde, Linne, and Orie were also heading out and Vatista was left behind for Team JNPR to keep an eye on. Jaune failed to get in touch with Ruby's scroll, and ground his teeth in frustration.

"This is infuriating!" he said. "Why do they get to go on some probably fate of the world mission, and we're all just left behind!?"

"Calm down Jaune," Pyrrha said, holding a hand to his shoulder. "I'm sure Team RWBY just wants us to hold down the fort until they get back. After all, if they're unable to come back, God forbid, who do they trust to protect Beacon Academy?"

"I mean... I get that," Jaune said. "It's still just a little bit annoying."

"Remember when they saved Vale from Torchwick and the White Fang?" Ren asked. "They went on that mission alone. But when they knew they needed help, they called us. So if they need our help this time around, you know they'll get in touch. We just have to have faith that they are fine."

"Okay, okay," Jaune said. "I... I get it."

Saki gave a smile from her seat by the counter of the kitchen area. "I can understand wanting to protect your friends," she said. "But you also have to know to trust your friends too."

Jaune nodded. "So is that why you were left behind Vatista?" he asked the Autonomic Nerve who had been sitting silently on the sofa for nearly fifteen minutes. "You trust Hyde and the others to take care of themselves?"

Vatista shook her head. "Incorrect," she replied. "I am here for, what you would classify as 'a play date.'"

"A play date?" Jaune asked. "With who?"

"Salutations!" an enthusiastic voice called from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Penny Polendina standing by and giving a salute. She jumped in surprise when she noticed everybody there, not expecting many other people aside from Vatista.

"Oh, hey Penny," Jaune greeted. "Are you the one that Vatista was waiting for?"

"Oh... yes," Penny nodded. She now understood she would need to come up with a proper excuse as to why she was there to see her! She couldn't say it was because the both of them were robots because, aside from Ruby and obviously people from Atlas, nobody knew that Penny _was _a robot!

"I see," Pyrrha said. "Is that because you wanted to help Vatista interact with other people aside from Hyde?"

"Y-yes!" Penny said happily. She suddenly hiccuped after saying that, an evident side-affect of every time she fibbed!

"Well," Ren said, "Nora and Heart are in our dorm room taking care of the dogs. If you want, the both of you can join them."

"Dogs!?" Penny said happily. "Come on Vatista, let us go assist with caring for the canines!"

"Very well," Vatista said monotonously.

Penny hurried away, Vatista following behind. The both of them found Nora and Heart right where they were told they'd be, and quickly offered their assistance! Well, Penny did. Vatista was still quiet.

"Salutations!" Penny said.

"Oh, hey Penny!" Nora said. "Nice to see you!"

"It is good to see you too!" Penny replied. "And who might this be?"

"That's Heart!" Nora replied.

"Hello!" Heart greeted happily. "Nice to meet you. Did you come to see these dogs?"

"Indeed!" Penny said. "Vatista, go say hello to the dogs!"

"Why?" Vatista asked. "Canines do not have equal mental functions or capacities as human beings or similar humanoid lifeforms. Why should I attempt to communicate?"

"Because silly," Penny said, "they're very cute! You get to pet them, and hug them, and play with them!"

Vatista was still skeptical, and turned to find Koromaru being held directly in front of her by Heart. Vatista blinked a few times as she looked at the dog's happy face. She gently picked the dog up in her arms, and looked curiously at him.

Koromaru barked happily, and Vatista did notice a very intriguing aura about this dog. More than likely his capacity to summon a Persona, which Vatista was able to detect, being an Autonomic Nerve and all. But more than that, was the natural curiosity of getting to interact with a canine like this, which she had never experienced before.

Koromaru happily rolled around in her arms, trying to get comfortable, panting and yipping in delight. Vatista continued to have a stoic look on her face, however her mouth did open in intrigue as she continued to hold him. Finally, just out of instinct, she picked up one of his paws in her hand, holding it between her fingers, and rubbed it gently.

The other girls couldn't help it, and began giggling and laughing in delight!

"Hm?" Vatista asked. "Did I do something humorous?"

"Oh no," Heart said. "It's just... you actually look like you're enjoying yourself!"

Vatista blinked, as she looked down at Koromaru again, who was giving her a look of happiness.

Back in the lounge area, Saki was starting to get impatient. "Well," she said, "we should find something to do while we wait for everyone else to return."

"What would you suggest?" Ren asked.

"I... I don't know," Saki said. "I'm just getting bored. If the rest of us are here, we should find something to do. But it's not like all of us can just play with those two dogs."

"Hm..." Pyrrha said, tapping a finger to her chin. "Perhaps... we can do some exploring?"

"Exploring?" Saki asked.

"Yes," Pyrrha replied. "Not all of us are familiar with the layout of the different worlds out there. I mean, we haven't explored much of Kanzakai. Then there's also Inaba and the neighboring city where Junes is we haven't seen much of. But perhaps to start with, do you know of any interesting landmarks from your world?"

Saki looked down at the floor thoughtfully. It was a possibility. "I suppose," she said. "But didn't you say you should remain here to look after your school?"

"Oh yes," Pyrrha said, rubbing her head. "I'm sorry! I kind of forgot."

"It's okay Pyrrha," Jaune said. "Maybe another day we can do some exploring."

"Any other thoughts?" Ren asked.

Suddenly, the sounds of screaming could be heard from outside! The group looked to the doorway in confusion, only to find both Sun and Neptune tumble through, covered in chains! "Guys!" Sun yelled. "Help us! This chick is a lunatic!"

"Who are you talking about?" Pyrrha asked calmly.

Suddenly, a girl wearing an outfit that screamed of little modesty stepped out of the shadows! Her clothes consisted of only a black bra and jean shorts, with a pair of boots underneath a big, dark cape, and had blood red hair tied up into twin ponytails! She was laughing hysterically but with tears in her eyes, as if she were fighting two different emotions at once!

"That all you got you wimps!?" she said. "I've barely broken a sweat! Man you are pathetic!"

"Hello Scharlachrot," Saki said simply.

"Wait-huh!?" Jaune said. "You know this girl?"

"Yes," Saki replied. "She's a Valkyria, not unlike Weiss."

"We need to find a name to differentiate the two of them," Jaune said. "Cause' I almost thought you meant our Weiss."

"Could you please help!?" Neptune asked. "Or did you forget the fact that this girl is trying to kill us!?"

"Pyrrha?" Jaune asked.

Pyrrha nodded, and with her polarity, summoned sword and shield in hand. She rushed forward, and nailed Scharlachrot in the gut with her shield, before slamming the flat of her blade against her head!

Scharlachrot however merely kept laughing and crying all at the same time! She pulled a chain from her sleeve and slammed the bladed edge into Pyrrha, causing her to stumble! She then used it like a whip, which Pyrrha blocked with her shield!

"Jeez," Jaune said, as he freed Neptune and Sun from the chains, "what did you do to make her so mad!?"

"We barely did anything!" Neptune replied.

"Yeah!" Sun agreed. "Those weirdo nuns from Heart's world brought her over and asked us to keep an eye on her while they went to go do something with those Shadow Operative people, and barely after a thirty second conversation she began attacking us out of nowhere!"

"Did you," Ren said, "perchance, try and flirt with her?"

"No!" both said, before Neptune followed up with an unsure, "maybe."

As the guys got back to their feet, next thing they knew, Pyrrha's body was thrown into Saki, and the both rolled across the ground! Scharlachrot leered over to them, still giggling like a psychopath!

"I don't suppose," Jaune said, "you already tried apologizing.

"That was, like," Neptune said, "the first thing we tried!"

"Well we have to find some way to calm her down!" Ren said, already arming his guns!

"Hey Sharlie!" Heart's voice said. The guys turned to see her standing in the middle of the hallway, Zwei cradled in her arms. "I thought that I heard your laughing!"

"W-wh-huh?" Scharlachrot asked. "C-commander? What're you-?"

"I'm dogsitting right now!" Heart said, walking past the others and standing right in front of Scharlachrot. She held up Zwei to Scharlachrot's face. "This is Zwei! Say 'hello Zwei!'"

Scharlachrot was not too happy about interrupted when she was clearly busy doing... things. However, as Zwei licked her nose, her anger quickly diminished. A bit of red grew on her cheeks as she picked up the dog, and looked at it with an awestruck expression. "S-stupid..." she said. "This is stupid... I don't care about... dogs..."

"Heehee!" Heart said. "Your face says different, Sharlie!"

"Wow," Jaune said. "Did that all just happen?"

"I think it did," Ren said, sheathing his weapons.

"Phew!" Sun said. "What a relief!"

"This 'Sharlie,'" Vatista said, also stepping out of the back, "wasn't attempting to attack our allies, was she?"

"She was," Pyrrha said, nursing her side.

"Not my fault," Scharlachrot said, petting Zwei. "I was already supremely pissed off, and those two were not helping."

"Oh yeah," Heart said, "what are you doing here Sharlie?"

"Guh!" Scharlachrot sighed in exasperation. "The old hags dropped me off here to go on some super mission! I thought you would've known about it!"

"Nope," Heart replied.

"Okay," Jaune said, "am I still the only one wondering about that mission thing? Why is everybody going there except for us!?"

"Remember what we said Jaune," Pyrrha said. Jaune could only sigh in exasperation.

"Now with that aside," Saki said, brushing off her side, "perhaps you would care to introduce yourself properly, Scharlachrot? And apologize for attacking everyone?"

"I already told you," Scharlachrot said, "it wasn't my fault, dammit!"

Saki gave her a firm glare, leading the Valkyria to sigh angrily. "Fine!" she said. "My name is Scharlachrot. I apologize for attacking you all."

"Nice to meet you, uh... Schar-la-chrot," Jaune said, sounding the name out. "I'm Jaune Arc, leader of Team JNPR."

"I'm Lie Ren," Ren said.

"And I'm Pyrrha Nikos," Pyrrha added. "It's lovely to meet you."

"And... you already know us," Sun said, rubbing his head. Neptune laughed uncomfortably alongside him.

"Yeah, whatever," Scharlachrot said.

Pyrrha stepped forward, and took Scharlachrot's free hand. "I would like to get to know you more," she said. "I'm sure we could become great friends, given time."

Scharlachrot looked temporarily awestruck, before she brushed it off and regained her typical miffed expression. "I don't need friends," she said. "I only have Sophie, and that's all I need. However, I will be taking this dog."

She walked away, Heart releasing a, "wah!" as she saw her go. "You can't do that Sharlie, that's Team RWBY's dog!"

"Don't care!" Scharlachrot said. She stepped away as Heart chased after her!

Saki watched this go down, a heavy aura over her head. Scharlachrot was a dangerous person. She knew it, particularly how she tried to power the Ragnarok device.

There were many people that Saki had met since she began interacting with the other worlds. Mentally unstable individuals like Carmine Prime to an extent, or Hazama, and those she had not met personally but heard of like Tohru Adachi, and Nine the Phantom. And Scharlachrot fit that category to be certain.

She knew that, in part, it wasn't her fault. It was the Drexler Institute that had brainwashed her from her creation, and made her the way she was. Weiss certainly trusted her, and tried to be a positive influence on her. She wanted her to branch out and befriend many of those that Weiss had met in recent days, thanks in majority to Heart.

But Saki was still skeptical. And that was putting it lightly. She found Scharlachrot as incredibly dangerous, and did not want to run the risk of her snapping and attacking all of Saki's friends. She had already felt the crushing pain of losing somebody, and if it weren't for Heart, she would've lost her mind to despair. She was never going to allow herself to feel that pain again. Because if she did, she would never come back.

"Saki, are you alright?" Pyrrha asked.

"Hm?" Saki said, looking up. She hadn't realized that she'd been standing still in thought for what must've been several minutes. "Oh... yes, I'm alright. Forgive me, I was just thinking or a moment there."

Pyrrha offered a smile. "It's alright," she said.

"Tell me, Scharlachrot," Ren said, "do you know about this mission that is currently going on?"

Scharlachrot gave a shrug, scratching Zwei's chin in one arm, whilst she held Heart away by her face with her other hand. "Nah," she said. "They told me that there was some 'event' that had to be investigated. And because of my 'nature,' they booted me out here."

"I can understand," Vatista said. "Your malicious intent and clear break of sanity was a strong indication that you could not be trusted in a fight."

"The hell did you say!?" Scharlachrot said, dropping Zwei on the ground! "You want me to rip your head off!?"

"No, no, no Sharlie!" Heart said. "No killing! No ripping heads off! Remember the fuzzy! Remember the fuzzy!"

She picked up Koromaru and brought her over to Scharlachrot's face! "Hey!" Scharlachrot said. "Cut that shit out! I'm not in the -... m-m...mood..."

Unable to maintain her rage, she sighed as she picked up Koromaru and began cuddling him. Everyone else was astonished by the sight. They all knew not to underestimate the power of cute dogs, but the way all of Scharlachrot's murderous rage was immediately drained away just from being close to them was just astonishing.

"Okay..." Jaune said. "So, uh, anybody want to do something?"

"Don't care," Scharlachrot said, laying on the sofa and taking it all to herself, as she continued to pet the clearly very happy Koromaru in her arms.

"Oh dear," Penny said. "Helping this one to open up will be a rough challenge."

"I do not feel that would be preferable," Vatista said. "From what I've learnt, it is not beneficial to affiliate with those with psychosis, insanity, lunacy, madness."

"I _will _kill you," Scharlachrot said.

Team JNPR, Saki, Neptune, Sun, and Heart all let loose a collective sigh. The good news was, with Scharlachrot around, things were certainly getting more lively around there. The bad news, was now things were going to become that much more difficult to figure out what to do now that she was so angry all the time.

Suddenly, the door burst down as Ruby, Weiß, and a blonde girl wearing a blue dress with armor came in and pinned the door back! "Ruby?" Jaune asked. "What's up? Who's that with you and Weiss?"

"Heheh..." Ruby giggled. "Hey~ Jaune. Uh, you never met Saber, huh?"

"Hello," Saber said, as calm and casual as she could in her situation.

"Sophie?" Scharlachrot asked Weiss. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Weiss replied. "However, our mission seems to have become a very chaotic situation."

Suddenly, the door blew down with enough force to throw Ruby, Saber, and Weiss from their feet and halfway across the room! From the doorway, a small girl with long white hair decorated with red ribbons, and a pitch black dress came through, holding a girl wearing some kind of a jumpsuit uniform. Despite her petite size, the girl with white hair was emanating power!

"Uh... Sonico?" Heart asked. "Is everything okay?"

"Wait, you know that girl!?" Saki asked.

"Yeah," Heart replied. "The girl being dragged is a friend of mine name Sonico. Although I thought that she was just a dream."

"Time out!" Saki said. "You're telling me that dream of yours actually happened!?"

"Well given what we've been doing recently," Heart said, "is it that hard to believe?"

"We feel the sacred abyss," the smaller girl said. "We have been awoken by the amount of pain, and death, and evil of these worlds. These worlds give off a pungent aroma of despair!"

"And who's the crazy little one?" Sun asked.

"Al Az... uh..." Heart said, attempting to rake her brain. Not only did all that happen a long time ago, but her name was just really bizarre to begin with. "Al... something...? Azure...?"

The small girl looked unamused. "Al Azif Ex Mortis," she said. "The sacred Necronomicon."

"That's the one!" Heart said happily. "But I thought that me and the other you blew you up."

"The despair of these interconnected worlds," Al Azif replied, "has restored me. Now, I shall plunge all these worlds, and more, into a terrible macrocosm!"

"You use a lot of big words," Jaune said.

"Yeah," Ruby said, "in the fifteen minutes I've known her, I learnt that the hard way."

"I take it that she is the anomally that you were investigating," Ren said.

"Yup," Ruby said. "Opened a big old hole in the air and we tried to stop her."

"I grow weary of this," Al Azif said, tossing Sonico aside like a ragdoll! "Now, you shall all embrace the inevitable death!" With a rough backhand she sent an orb of dark energy towards them!

Weiss stepped in front of Ruby and shielded her with her body, still getting blown from her feet!

"Sophie!" Scharlachrot said. Everyone stepped back, as they literally heard something 'snap!' within Scharlachrot's body! A dark aura as pungent as the one that was being given off by Al Azif Ex Mortis permeated her form, and she began laughing and crying again! "You filthy sunuvabitch," she said, "you hurt Sophie!"

She rushed forward, and immediately all events became a blur of activity as she wailed into Al Azif! "Ah!" Heart said. "Sharlie, calm down!"

"Why do you want her to calm down?" Neptune asked. "She's fighting the bad guy at least! I say let her go!"

"You moron!" Saki said. "If she's allowed to persist, she'll bring this whole building to the ground even after Al Azif is beaten!"

"Gah!" Ruby sighed in frustration. "You guys can't just fight here!"

"We have to do something!" Saber said. "There's got to be a way to bring down Al Azif without bringing destruction to this entire building!"

That's when Heart got a crazy idea. She grabbed both dogs by the scruffs of their necks, and proceeded to charge towards Scharlachrot and Al Azif! She expertly tossed Zwei into the air, delivered an Iron Fist to Scharlachrot's back that blew her away, and caught the corgi in time to plant them both into Al Azif's tiny body!

"What are you doing!?" Al Azif yelled. "You attempt to fight me with canines! I am the infinite despair! I am born of negativity! I am...!"

However, as she attempted to continue, she saw the dogs that were yipping and panting in delight! Her words were lost as all she was seeing and thinking of suddenly became solely focused on them. Then, in a flash, she was blown off her feet, the dark aura dissipating, and her dress turning white aside from black!

Heart plopped Zwei and Koromaru on top of her, and fist pumped in delight! "Haha! It worked!" she said. "I knew it!"

Everyone else was merely flabbergasted by what they just saw! "What... what the hell was that?" Sun asked.

"Well," Heart said, "I figured that if she was 'made of negativity' then the best thing to do would be to overwhelm her with happiness!"

"Happines," Vatista said. "Joy, glee, bliss. Your logic... is sound."

"Exactly!" Heart said. "And what better way to bring happiness than by showering her in the loving embrace of cute puppies!?"

"I... suppose it makes sense," Saber said, rubbing her head.

"Grrrraaaagghhh!" Scharlachrot yelled. She was swinging around her chains in blind fury, shouting and screaming! "Die! Die! Die! Die! Die! Die!"

"Oh no," Heart said. She picked up Zwei and planted him firmly in Scharlachrot's face! "Hey! Get the hell off... of... me..." she said, calming down as Zwei continued to rub into her face. "I... I hate you..."

She grabbed Zwei in a hug and fell flat on her back on the ground! Heart could only laugh happily as she witnessed Weiss give her support as she knelt down and patted Scharlachrot's head! "So Sonico," she then said, "what was that all about?"

"Forgive me," Sonico replied. "I hadn't realized that Al Azif Ex Mortis had been restored from Al Azif's body until it was too late. By that point, all the other worlds were getting pulled here. But thanks to you, now we should be able to fix things."

"Well, happy to help!" Heart said in delight.

From her position on the ground, Al Azif opened her eyes groggily to see Koromaru rubbing her with his muzzle. She pet his head slowly. "Good boy," she said.

After a few minutes, allowing Al Azif to recover, Sonico helped lead her out.

"I think it's time for you to go too," Ruby said to Saber.

"Indeed," she said. "I've already arrived unannounced twice now."

"Ah no worries!" Ruby said. "First time was kinda my fault. Anyways, safe travels!" She waved as the three otherworlders all made their way out.

"Well that was... something else," Jaune said.

"After awhile," Ruby said, "you kinda get used to it."

"I think it'd be better if I didn't," Jaune said.

"Am I the only one," Saki said, "that is still questioning the logistics of puppy dogs stopping that manifestation of pure evil?"

"Yes," Vatista replied simply.

"Hm?" Penny wondered.

"What's wrong Penny?" Pyrrha asked.

"I was just wondering where the other girls went," Penny replied.

"At the moment," Ren said, "they're still trying out Heart's new therapeutic method."

In Team JNPR's dorm room, Scharlachrot was laying on the bed, Zwei and Koromaru laying down on her stomach. In her head she was internally screaming things like, severed heads! Disembowelment! Agony! Genocide! But on the surface, she was still being embraced in a warm bed of fuzziness and delight!

"Told you this worked!" Heart told Weiss.

"I see," Weiss replied. "Perhaps this could be a superior method of helping her to fight off the Drexler Institute's influence."

"What can I say?" Heart asked. "Puppies solve everything!"

* * *

Far away from anything else, sitting on their makeshift throne made out of the husk of the System, they witnessed the events transpire. They had hoped that by restoring Al Azif Ex Mortis in her physical body, she could prove useful in completing their master plan. However, they had not anticipated such a pure front of positive energy that would be strong enough to totally purge the darkness from Al Azif's body.

"_**Well,**_" they said, "_**that didn't work out. This will prove to be a bit more interesting than I had thought, now with this Maiden and her friends out of my control... What do you think?**_"

* * *

_**Author's Note: And with that title drop and bit of foreshadowing, we have completed this chapter! Boy did this end up being longer than I had initially thought! I was initially hoping to get this chapter out two days ago, but let me tell you I've dealt with a lot of crazy stuff the past two days that kept me from publishing this. But I'm happy to have it out now!**_

_**This was yet ANOTHER suggestion from Cure Crystal, who wanted to see Nora and Heart dogsitting. And let me tell you first, Cure Crystal, you are the bomb for your suggestions! Thanks a load for your support!**_

_**Anways, obviously from that idea alone things sort of accelerated to something above and beyond! And that's mainly because I tied this in with a different crossover game, Nitroplus Blasterz! Yeah, I know that I mentioned back in Chapter 2 that I wasn't going to be using any other franchises from outside BBTAG... well ~ that may have been a tiny bit of a fib.**_

_**Truth be told, considering that Nitroplus Blasterz was the first crossover game that Heart had appeared in, it was too good to avoid. Especially considering it also includes the Fate series, which you may recall from 'Attack of the Cameos.'**_

_**We also had the introduction of one of my personal favorite Arcana Heart characters in here, Scharlachrot! She's a little crazy, but I think that's what leads me to like her as much as I do. I've wanted to get her in here for awhile now, so this was as good a time as any, and I think I did it right! Expect to see her a LOT more in the future, and feel free to leave suggestions pertaining to her. I'd love to see what you guys can come up with!**_

_**Either way, this chapter quickly spun out of control, and was too much fun to write! The pure ludicrousness that just came out of nowhere was awesome! And I also want to let you know not to worry too much about the foreshadowing at the ending there. I'm not planning on anything massive in the future, merely just a loose end from my previous story attempts that I'm gonna get around to sooner or later.**_

_**Either way, thank you as always for reading, and let me know what suggestions you have! Until next time, have a great day/night and take care!**_


	12. Totally Nuts Over Him

Makoto Nanaya was a girl who normally is not fazed by much anything. In fact, she typically spend her time worrying over other people, making sure they were happy and weren't hurt. Call it having built up a thick hide after having to live with discrimination all her life due to being a Beastkin, but Makoto had merely just grown a lot of nerve and didn't really worry over much anything (which is probably why she dresses with such little modesty).

So you can imagine her discomfort when she started feeling this fluttering in her gut and this almost panicky sensation whenever she started thinking about a certain guy in particular that may or may not have been known as 'Captain Resentment.' Darn Noel for suggesting she have a... crush! And darn Heart for making it worse with her "Love-love-love!" blah-blah-blah, barf!

But she couldn't get over how pretty much every day since then her mind went back to that incident where her friends accused her of having a crush! Now she couldn't get over every time since then where she saw Yosuke, and how she reacted just to being close to him! How her face felt hot, and her heartrate increased. Could she have really developed feelings she hadn't even noticed before? Feelings for a guy that had truly impressed her after a certain incident, some time ago?

Regardless, she needed advice. She needed some proper direction to understand her feelings, and what she should do with them. And... whether it not it was right.

The only person she could think of would be Chie. Noel was totally oblivious when it came to stuff like this, and Mai was even worse, and there was NO way she was going anywhere near Heart with this after last time. Chie knew Yosuke quite a bit, and she was a firm friend by this point due to their similar love of action. Not to mention, if Makoto was really going through with this, she needed to know if Chie really shared feelings for him or if the others really were just messing with her.

She soon arrived at the dojo she knew Chie frequented, where she received training from Akihiko. Makoto had gone there to spar with Chie a few times, and seen her making steady progress. She also knew Yang popped in and out a few times, namely to test her metal since she didn't really need their kind of training, although she admitted that there had been a bit of good advice from Akihiko about mixing up her fighting style.

Makoto opened the door to the dojo and saw Akihiko sparring with Yang, expertly dodging her hits, before delivering a flurry of punches into her gut and slamming her upside the head, causing her to fall off her feet! "...ouch," Yang said.

"Yo... Yang-chan just got floored," Chie said.

"You still gotta speed up Yang," Akihiko said. "You're still going too slow!"

Yang hopped back up, eyes glowing red, surprising Akihiko and Chie, and rushed forward! She leapt up, and slammed a punch at the ground in front of Akihiko's feet, and sent him flying! "Hahaha!" she laughed. "How's that for fast, Aki?"

"Okay," Akihiko said. "Fair enough."

Chie noticed Makoto as she hung up her cloak by the door. "Oh, hey Makoto-chan," she greeted. "How's it going?"

"Uh, it's good Chie," Makoto replied. "Hey, listen, I-I was just wondering if we could talk?"

"Yeah, sure," Chie replied, standing up. "What's up?"

Makoto looked over Chie's shoulder to see Yang helping Akihiko to his feet. "Can we take this outside?" she asked. "I'd prefer ta keep this private."

Chie was curious at first, before she heard the door open and saw Heart enter! "Yangy!" she said. "There you are! I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Sup' Heart?" Yang replied.

"You totally left before we finished our challenge!" Heart replied. "And I won't forgive you! Now you'll feel the wrath of justice!"

"you might wanna move Aki," Yang said, "this could get _Yangy_!"

Yang and Heart rushed towards each other, Heart ducking underneath a blow from Yang, delivering a blow to the Huntress-in-training's gut in turn! Yang backed up as Heart delivered a few more punches, spinning around and trying to keep on her toes, Yang managing to block them all! She dodged away from another hit, as she delivered a right hook to Heart's face!

Heart backed up, as Yang continued to deliver hit, after hit, her gauntlets having been set aside in order to allow her to spar without risking seriously hurting somebody without Aura or some other form of invulnerability. She slammed a fist to her gut, backhanded her in the face, delivered another hit to the side, uppercut her, and kicked her in the side while she was stunned!

Heart managed to block a hit, and drop to her hands, kicking Yang in the shins with both legs! She hopped back up, and after tripping Yang, managed to punch her in midair, before slamming a hand down to crush Yang into the floor! She backed up, and watched as Yang only got her hair set on fire as she got back up, and rushed for her!

"Woah," Chie said as she watched! "What is that all about?"

"Didn't you hear?" Makoto asked. "Heart and Yang had a cake eating contest earlier, and Heart ended up passing out after a sugar rush, which Yang decided was a good opportunity to leave. It was fun, I got it on video."

Next moment, Heart wound back her fist, and delivered an Iron Fist directly into Yang, blowing right through her Aura and Semblance, sending her into a wall! The poor blonde fell off the wall and face-planted into the floor!

"Uh," Chie said, "yeah I think we should go before this possibly gets any worse."

The two left the dojo, Makoto throwing her cloak back on. "So," Chie said, "what's up?"

Makoto took a deep breath, before looking Chie straight in the eye. "Chie," she said, "I know what you said last time, but I need you to be totally honest with me now, no freakouts or anything, and give me the honest truth. Do ya like Yosuke?"

Chie's face turned bright red instantaneously, but did manage to keep her composure. "W-what brought this on?" she asked.

Makoto looked away, her face totally professional, no expression whatsoever, and not the least bit flustered. "I've been thinkin' a lot," she said. "Puttin' my feelings together. But I need to know what's the right thing for me. So I ask again, do ya like Yosuke?"

Chie firmly shook her head. "No," she said. "No I don't... do you?"

Makoto broke away and she looked to the side. "I... I think I might," she said. "I mean... I do feel all flustered when I think a' him. And I've been thinkin' nonstop bout' that talk in the bakery, and the first time I think I really started likin' him."

Chie tilted her head. "Then why ask me if I like him?" she asked.

Makoto looked at her. "Cause'," she said, "I wanted to know if I risked jeapordizin' someone else's happiness with my feelin's. And that's just not my style."

Chie smiled. "Oh Makoto-chan," she said, "you're very kind, but you shouldn't be ashamed of your feelings. If you like Yosuke, you should be happy. I may never say it to his face, but Yosuke is a good guy in his heart, and I think he'll be good to you. And between you and me, I don't think you have much competition."

Makoto grinned. "Thanks Chie," she said. "That makes me feel a lot better. But what d'ya think I should do ta approach him."

"Just be honest," Chie replied. "I'm sure he'll be ecstatic if you just tell him that you like him!"

"MAKO'S DOING WHAT?!"

Suddenly, Heart blew down the front door to the dojo, and grabbed Makoto by her shoulders! "Are you for real!?" she asked. "You like Yokee!? Why didn't you tell me sooner!? Why have you been holding out on me?!"

The entire time, she was shaking Makoto back and forth, as Chie tried desperately to stop her! In the background, watching as this all went down, Yang could only giggle to herself. "This is too much," she said. She suddenly widened her eyes as she fell to her knees, nursing her gut. "Ow... Ow, ow," she said.

"Hey!" Akihiko said. "Somebody's gotta cover for this door!"

Makoto could only laugh uncomfortably at all the madness going on. In the back of her mind, she traced back once more to the first time she really began to connect with Yosuke. The first moment she felt a certain spark of interest.

* * *

She had just been exploring Beacon Academy for the first time, taking in the interesting architecture and atmosphere the land gave off. It wasn't too unlike a lot of what she would see normally in her own world, yet still had a unique cybernetic yet almost victory steampunk esc vibe. The style was unique, and that definitely left her intrigued, particularly when it came down to the very idea of this school being designed with the intention of teaching kids to fight monsters. It was honestly fun.

She soon got to the place where she had been told by the teacher by the name of Goodwitch was the training hall. She looked inside with the hopes of maybe sneaking in for a sparring session with Yang or the other members of Team RWBY at some point later, as she saw there was somebody already inside. From a distance, it was hard to tell, but she did recognize one of them as Yosuke, although by this point he was wearing his casual attire of a white hoodie over a plain orange t-shirt, and some brown pants. He was standing across from a guy that was dressed primarily in gray, even his hair being gray.

"Just remember, whatever your name was," Yosuke said, "you asked for this!"

"Yeah," the other guy shrugged, his voice sounding suspiciously like a gruffer version of Yosuke's. "And the name's Mercury."

Yosuke rolled his shoulders, before running forward, his kunai at his side! Mercury merely grinned as Yosuke delivered a dozen strikes that he easily ducked around. He slammed Yosuke in the side with a kick, causing the Prince of Junes to gasp and gag in pain! Mercury followed up by delivering a serious kick to Yosuke's face, a bullet being fired from his boot that blew Yosuke aside!

Yosuke was on the ground, groaning and practically yelling in pain! Makoto came a few paces forward, ready to put a stop to this, but saw that Yosuke was pushing himself back into a standing position!

"Oh please," Mercury groaned. "This is exactly why you guys shouldn't even be in this world! You have no Aura, and you have no skills either. What are you, self taught?"

Yosuke yelled out as he rushed forward again! Mercury ducked and dodged more hits as Yosuke continued slashing and stabbing at the air in an attempt to get a hit! Mercury slammed him with a roundhouse kick that hit him in the back, but Yosuke remained standing and slammed Mercury in the face with the butt of his kunai!

Mercury stunned, Yosuke stabbed and repeated a couple hits, even kicking him in the legs! From a distance, Makoto smiled at the retaliation from Yosuke! "Yeah," she said quietly. "Come on! You can do it!"

Mercury blocked another hit, and punched Yosuke in the side, before grabbing the sides of his head and slamming him into his knee! Yosuke kept his grip tight on the kunai, and slashed at him, Mercury backing away! Yosuke ducked a hit, as Mercury tried to deliver a blast from his boots, and sent another thrusting stab at Mercury's side, and followed up by slashing to the side!

Mercury kicked Yosuke in the chin, and blew him back several feet with a kick firmly into Yosuke's gut! "No!" Makoto said. "Come on, you got this!"

Yosuke stumbled, but remained standing! His body was bruised from the amount of hits that Mercury was delivering, and he was struggling to remain standing, while it was clear that Mercury could keep going for several minutes! But Yosuke knew that he had something, if he could just use it!

"You are pathetic," Mercury said. "What's going on with this? Why do you bother fighting? You know you're not strong enough."

Yosuke looked up, and gave a heavy scowl. "Why?" he asked. "Because I want to protect people! Even if I'm not strong, not physically, and I'm not a great fighter, my strength will keep going so long as somebody needs me! And as long as I have my Persona, I'm never gonna back down!"

He summoned a blue card that he smashed with a strike! "**Jiraiya**!" he yelled. His Persona stood behind him, and sent a gale force wind that knocked Mercury off his feet and slammed him into the wall! He was still standing, and charged forward!

Yosuke sent Jiraiya forward, as the Persona delivered a strike that Mercury barely dodged! Mercury got on his hands and sent a flurry of ranged shots that peppered Jiraiya, but the Persona was mostly unaffected! Yosuke sent a sideways strike, that knocked Yosuke off his feet once more, and the Huntsman was all but knocked unconscious!

Jiraiya vanished, and Yosuke smiled happily in triumph over his win. "You did it!" Makoto cheered. Yosuke jumped out of his skin, totally unprepared for that!

"Makoto?" he asked. "What're you doing here?"

"I was just tourin' the school," Makoto said, walking over to him. "But then I came in here and saw all that! That was awesome!"

"Oh, thanks," Yosuke said, rubbing his head. "That Mercury guy was bothering us since we're not from Remnant and don't have powers, or at least normal powers, and no professional training with our weapons save for the few times when we met up with Kirijo-san."

"Still," Makoto said, "you totally showed him what's what!"

Yosuke smiled. "Thanks," he said. "That means a lot to me."

"No problem," Makoto said. "Say, what's your name again?"

Yosuke felt a punch in the gut! He was embarrassed over the fact that Makoto did not know his name. Still, they didn't know each other well, but she could've at least remembered him!

"Uh... Yosuke," he replied. "Yosuke Hanamura."

"Makoto Nanaya," the girl replied. "Nice to get to see your fight, Yosuke!"

"No problem," Yosuke replied.

And there it was, the first moment that Makoto truly saw Yosuke's inner strength. The chance she got to see what really drove him, and got to let him fight. And that was something, in her heart, she found worth admiring.

* * *

_**Author's Note: I'm back baby! Yeah, I took my sweet time with this one, but due to just not feeling in the mood for the past while, and sickness during a week not helping matters, I chose to slow down a bit. But considering the amount I was able to dish out during that time, I honestly am not that worked up about it.**_

_**Anyways, this was my first attempt at getting back into the groove, and I honestly can say that I am satisfied with it. I did attempt a different idea or two before going on an unofficial hiatus, so I figured it'd be easier for me to try a different concept before going in for the big one and retrying that idea.**_

_**For this one, it was basically just Act 2 of the ship between YosukexMakoto, given that I already had two chapters by this point (give or take) that handled the idea of RubyxHyde. For this time around, I wanted to focus a bit more on the idea of Makoto being unsure if she should pursue her crush on Yosuke, if she knew there was somebody else interested. So we got a bit more of her heart in there, as she wouldn't try pursuing somebody if it ran the risk of hurting somebody else.**_

_**We also got a snippit of something I'd thought of forever ago, being Akihiko training Yang and Chie, and also that comedic moment of Heart slamming Yang in the chest! That was something that came to mind that I found absolutely had to be included!**_

_**And there's also something else that I wanted to point out, in response to a critique from a user that mentioned how there weren't many fight scenes. And granted, I know BBTAG is a fighting game, but this wasn't exactly the main focus. But all the same, I know that there are possibilities for a bit of conflict, and I hope that I got to accentuate that a bit more here. And also, the fight between Yosuke and Mercury was another idea I'd had before, given that they are both voiced by Yuri Lowenthal so I knew I had to do something with that.**_

_**And finally, another thing I wanted to try out, is replying to some reviews!**_

_**First off, with Esteban who commented on "An Actor Takes A Rose In The Night," I suppose the main reason I didn't have Orie be a bit more jealous is because I didn't see them on the levels of crushing on each other, which is why I didn't have Orie be a bit more jealous, as Linne was the only one that I saw being jealous by this point. Plus they also have a bit of drama going on with the fact that Hyde figured out that Orie was a member of the Licht Kries, which she never told him, and Hyde also being in league with the Night Blade, which he similarly never told her, so they're overall figuring out their feelings for each other, overall. I'll explore that idea a bit more later the next time I go for the RubyxHyde pairing, but I just didn't see it something overall like that yet. And as for Seth, I feel SO BAD FOR NOT GETTING HIM YET XD! I'm figuring out a way to cover up for that, but in the meantime, I'm just gonna look closer at Seth's story for understanding him! I do like Seth, I really do, and I feel guilty for not getting him!**_

_**With, fernandamichelleraya, I really appreciate your thoughts on RubyxHyde, as it's always nice to hear from another person that supports it. Also, I will definitely think about having Hazama make a major appearance later.**_

_**And finally, with Kinaki747, boy did you leave a LOT of thoughts and I positively adore that! Overall I don't have much to say aside from thanks for your enthusiastic support, I'll try out what you suggested, you were right on with Kokonoe's thoughts, and I have NO IDEA how old Ragna is!**_

_**With that all said and done, thank you as always for reading and leaving suggestions, and if you have any other pairings for this story, don't hesitate to ask. I'm namely hoping for some pairings for the other members of Team RWBY, as if we're going off of them being based on fairy tale characters, this could give them their happily ever after. We already know well by this point that I'm putting Ruby with Hyde, I am a proud supporter of Black Sun gosh durnit, so that leaves Yang and Weiss. I know some might not want forced pairings, but they don't have to be forced if they make sense and are suggested now do they? That aside, thank you and good night!**_

_**PS: Writing Makoto's inflections is HARD!**_


	13. The Super Ultra Lovey Dovey Chapter

Heart Aino would proudly admit she would do positively anything for love. To cross any boundary, overcome any challenge, or slay any opponent, would be done, no questions asked. As the vessel for the Arcana of Love, Partinias, it was a solemn duty.

And now, at this very moment, she had discovered that which she felt would be her ultimate tool as the agent of love! A tool which would overcome any and all limitations or hindrances, and allow all to become one with the true power of love!

"So," Heart said, curiously looking at what Rachel held before her, "what'd you call these again?"

"The Spectacles of Eros," Rachel replied. "Once worn by a hapless individual, any and everyone of the opposite sex will become totally infatuated by them."

Heart promptly took the glasses in her hands! "Yes! Yes!" she said happily. "With these at my disposal, everyone will find their true love one way or another! And I swear, they _will _live happily ever after!"

Laughing like a stereotypical villain, Heart booked it for parts unknown! Rachel could only stare after her, eyes uncharacteristically wide. "Oh dear," she said. "I do believe I've created a monster."

* * *

Hyde had just finished packing his bag and felt completely ready to go. After spending as much time as he did with incredibly powerful and honestly kind of scary women as he did, it was truly about time he had a guy's night out. Just some time to do as guys do with himself, Yosuke, Naoto (Kurogane), Yu, Jaune, Team SSSN, Kanji, Ren, Teddie, and maybe Seth. He wasn't entirely sure about the assassin, as things were still ambiguous between the two of them.

But as he got prepared to head out the door, it was suddenly blown in by a familiar, pink haired individual! "Hey Hydey!" she said.

"Uh... Heart?" Hyde wondered. "What's got you so excited today? Or rather, more excited than normal?"

"Oh nothing~" Heart replied ."I've just got a little challenge going on. And you're in it!"

"Wait, what're you - gah!" Before Hyde could finish what he was saying, Heart slammed something right between his eyes! "Ow! The hell is this!?" he asked.

"Behold the power," Heart declared, "of the Spectacles of Eros! No girl can resist you now!"

"Wait... huh?" Hyde asked, wondering if he heard her right.

"Now get out there!" Heart cheered, pushing Hyde out the door. Once outside, Hyde barely even noticed the fact he was now standing in a massive tent that had somehow been erected in his front yard without him noticing, because he now saw himself standing in front of practically every girl he knew!

"Yo Hyde," Yuzuriha said flirtatiously. "So about that date I turned you down on forever ago, well I changed my mind."

"I-I'm tired of running!" Orie said, her face beat red. "I want to be with you Kido!"

"I never noticed it before," Noel said, "but you are amazing Hyde! I-I'm not gonna lose this!"

"You should count yourself lucky," Weiss said. "Many boys would count themselves lucky to have an heiress biding for their affections."

"You are truly a remarkable boy Hyde Kido," Saki said. "So kind and responsible! Any girl would be lucky to have you!"

"I'm gonna win this fight!" Chie said. "It's just like in the action movies where the lead gets to fight for the affection of their mate to show their power and devotion to them! Oh I'm fired up now!"

"I'm unused to this feeling," Weiß said, "but I wish for you to explore it with me."

"No more _Hyde_-ing buddy," Yang said with a wink, "now you know you want this firecracker!"

"You know," Rise said, "whoever said that my senpai was the only guy I could ever be with?"

"I'm pretty sure you did," Lilica replied. "But don't worry about little Risette over here. This girl will show you a real fun time. And if you're nice, I may not mess with you so much. Maybe."

"This feeling I have when I'm around you," Mai said, "it's unreal!"

"You helped to save me Kido-kun," Yukiko said. "Now I want to repay my debt in every way I can!"

"This guy makes me feel alive," Labrys said. "I want to feel like that all the time!"

"Don't worry Hyde!" Ruby said. "I'm not gonna lose!"

"Anyone who get's in my way to you," Scharlachrot yelled, "I'll rip off their heads!"

"No-no!" Taokaka yelled. "Hyde is only for Taokaka!"

"Such mysterious circumstances in my systems," Aigis said. "Could this be... romantic affection?"

"Affection," Vatista said. "Tenderness, intimacy, endearment, love."

"D-don't think anything of this!" Marie said. "I just don't think any other girl should spend time with you! It's not like I like you or anything!"

"Tell me about it!" Nanase added. "I'm gonna win just to make sure that no other girl touches him like he did to me!"

Off in the corner, Cinder Fall was watching with an entertained look on her face.

"What. The hell. Is this?!" Hyde shouted.

"Welcome one and all," Yosuke said, standing nearby, "to the next Spectacles of Eros Deathmatch! I'm your host, Yosuke Hanamura, and with me today is the self-proclaimed love master himself (even though he isn't) Teddie!"

"Well hi!" Teddie siad. "It's _beary _lovely to be here for this! And boy is love in the air today, as our contestant is attracting all the hotties to his side!"

"Yes indeed," Yosuke said, "and speaking of which, our contestant here this time around is the Unknown Actor of Kanzakai, give it up for Hyde Kido!"

"Yosuke! Teddie!" Hyde yelled. "What is going on here?! What're you pulling!?"

"Don't worry dude," Yosuke said. "I will explain." He promptly returned to his announcer voice. Who he was even talking to was beyond Hyde.

"Ladies and gentleman, Hyde Kido has been chosen as the next person to wear the Spectacles of Eros. To give us the lowdown on the rules, let's give a hand to our guest commentator, Rachel Alucard."

Next to Teddie and Yosuke at the desk that was just to the side of Hyde's front door, Rachel herself was sitting pretty.

"Thank you Captain Resentment," she said.

"Why you gotta call me that!?" Yosuke said.

"The Spectacles of Eros," Rachel said, naturally ignoring Yosuke, "cause anyone of the opposite sex to become totally infatuated by whomever wears them. This little event was designed to see whom loves Mr. Kido the most."

"But," Hyde said, "I don't even think I've met some of these girls before!"

"It matters not," Rachel replied. "The power of the Spectacles of Eros is absolute."

"And let's give a _beary _huge round," Teddie said, "for the hottie who put this together, and found our girls to compete, Heart-chan!"

Heart stood by happily. "Heart!" Hyde said. "Why did you do this to me!?"

"Of course!" Heart declared. "It's the only way everyone can find their true love! Once I'm done with you, I'm gonna see how everyone goes!"

"Okay," Hyde said. "If I can't stop you, tell me this, why did you choose some of these girls? I don't see Pyrrha, Blake, Nora, or Makoto, "

"Well," Heart replied, "I think they're figuring things out on their own."

"Huh?" Hyde asked.

"And they're off!" Yosuke said, watching as all the girls in the crowd began to scatter.

"What're they even going to do?" Hyde asked.

"What else?" Heart asked. "Cooking!"

"What!?" the guys asked.

"Wait, you two didn't know?" Hyde asked.

"No man!" Yosuke said. "We were just the hosts/commentators! We didn't make the rules! And even if we did, there is no way we were letting some of these girls anywhere near cooking equipment!"

"Why the heck are you two even here?" Hyde asked. "You never answered me on that."

"Well," Yosuke replied, "we both thought it would be funny."

"You guys are jerks," Hyde said.

"It's probably for the best," Rachel replied, "that they compete in such a manner. If we let these women fight, they would most certainly have nothing to hold them back and could potentially kill each other A simple competition like this would keep things nonlethal."

"But if we let some of these girls cook in such close proximity," Yosuke said, "somebody could die either way!"

"How _bear_-ible!" Teddie cried.

Ruby hurried over to her station and got to work! Underneath her standard top and cape, she had a plain white shirt she had on, which she covered with an apron as she tossed her clothing aside. She tied her hair back and rolled up her sleeves, before proudly putting her hands on her hips with a 'Ta-da!'

"Ooh," Yosuke said, "looks like Ruby-chan's getting into it!"

"As she does with everything!" Teddie said.

Before Yang or Chie could even try anything, a blade stabbed their table! "What the-!?" they both said.

Turns out, Nu had set her sights on eliminating the competition! "Are you for real?" Yang asked. "This is a competition, not a battle!"

"All enemies will be terminated," Nu replied.

"Whatever you say Schwarz," Yang replied, prepping Ember Celica.

"Terminated," Vatista said. "Destroyed, eliminated, removed. I shall not allow you to impede my mission with such trivialities."

"I concur," Aigis added. "This inferior machine will not keep me from my affections."

"I get the first hit!" Yuzuriha and Labrys said, both hefting their weapons.

"Get in line!" Taokaka yelled, leaping over them all at the machine!

"Wooh!" Lilica cheered. "Get her! Get her! Get her!"

"Uh... I'ma just go over here," Chie said, taking the advantage to get out of the line of fire.

"Gah! Guys!" Ruby said, as Chie rushed past her. "You can't be fighting!"

"Oh!" Yosuke said. "And a brawl breaks out between Nu-13, Yang-chan, Yuzu-chan, Vatista-chan, Ai-chan, Lilica-chan, Labrys-chan, and Tao-chan, eliminating all of them from the competition!"

"Surprisingly," Teddie added, "the most blood hungry of them all, Sharlie-chan, is staying on task!"

Scharlachrot was indeed at her own station, her eyes glazed over as she tried to recall what she knew about cooking! She'd cooked with Weiß before and was doing everything in her power to go through the steps. "Do we start wi - no! That's not right. It's - Wait, that isn't it either! Was it-?"

She roared in anger, as she brought her fists down on her station, breaking the top! "Uh," Orie said from beside her, "are you okay?"

"Give me a minute dammit," Scharlachrot said, holding up a finger.

"But she's no less scary," Yosuke said. "And it seems she's not getting any help from her bestie, Weiß-chan, who's got laser focus on this!"

Weiß was using her skills she'd learnt from baking with Heart to her advantage, as she was already prepared to mix her dry and wet ingredients for a cake together, actually enjoying the process. Close by, Marie was looking on with anger and annoyance. "Crap," she thought. "This is not good. She could win at this rate!"

She looked beside her, where Rise had already concocted something noxious looking. "Hey coaches," Marie said, "can we taste test each other's food?"

Everyone in the stands looked to Heart, as she was the one who made the rules. "Sure!" she said.

Marie took a spoonful of whatever glob Rise had formed, the teen idol surprised by the action. "Hey Weiß," Marie said, causing the Valkyria to look at her. "Taste this for me."

Before Weiß could even say anything, Marie shoved the spoon in her mouth! Weiß was instantly on the ground a millisecond after, her face turning purple as a low gasp escaped her throat! "You may want to add something," Marie said to the stunned Rise.

"Snap!" Yosuke said. "Weiß-chan goes down! Somebody should get the hospital on the line in case this escalates."

"I can't watch anymore of this," Hyde said. "This is degrading."

"But Hyde," Heart said, "how else can we find your true love?"

"Gee, I don't know," Hyde replied. "Maybe in a way that doesn't involve whatever this is! And it's got me thinking, how are you and Rachel immune to these things?"

"I am beyond such things," Rachel said, waving him off.

"And as love's agent," Heart added, "I have love on the mind all the time!"

"How are we not surprised?" Hyde said.

"Of course!" Teddie said. "Heart-chan is such a _beary _lovely lady!"

"And how are you so happy about all this?" Hyde added. "Wouldn't you be steamed that all these girls are fawning over me, and not you?"

"Not really," Teddie replied. "Because not only will all the girls that get rejected be looking for a guy to fall back on, but Heart-chan promised me next dibs on the Spectacles!"

"So you're the rebound guy," Hyde said.

"Oucha!" Teddie said.

"Well with those details settled," Yosuke said, "let's get back to the competition, where it looks like a hot race is going down between Weiss and Saki!"

Sure enough, the mirror-image girls were working hard next to each other at their own stations. Surprisingly, despite being pretty close friends, neither Weiss nor Saki were saying a word to each other! They were dead set focused on their goal.

That is, until Nanase roughly pushed past behind them! "Move aside you two!" she said. "I got stuff to do!"

"Watch where you're going!" Weiss said, grabbing her roughly by the collar of her shirt. "You pushed into us while we're in the middle of working!"

"Not my fault," Nanase said.

"What are you even doing here?" Saki asked. "Aren't you a little young for a competition like this?"

"You should be asking me to win!" Nanase said. "Hyde Kido is such a - such a - a jerk!" she stammered as her face continued turning increasing shades of red. "I won't let him violate any other girl!"

"Violate!?" Saki and Weiss yelled.

Everyone in the stands collectively looked at Hyde, who put his face in his hands. "I hate it every time that girl speaks," he muttered to himself.

"What do you mean 'violate'!?" Weiss yelled.

"He did something awful to my body!" Nanase added.

"Do you care to elaborate on that?" Saki asked.

"Why do you want to know?" Nanase said.

"Because it's awful if you're just accusing Hyde of something he didn't do," Weiss said.

"Guys!" Ruby called from the other side of the arena. "You should be concentrating! You don't want to run out of time!"

Heart watched this all with heated interest, before noticing something out of the corner of her eye and looking to the side. Sure enough, one of her other friends she'd asked to show up, Kamui, was standing off to the side with a far off look in her eye. "Kamui?" she asked. "Aren't you gonna compete too?"

Kamui looked at her. "I can't say I will," she said.

"But," Heart said, aiming Hyde's head with the Spectacles still stuck to his face right at her, "don't you love Hydey too?"

Kamui tilted her head to the side as she looked at Hyde. "I... can't say that I do," she replied.

"No!" Heart said, releasing Hyde. "Don't tell me one of my best friends is... IMMUNE TO LOVE!?"

"Wowie kazowie!" Teddie said. "It looks like this girl is stuck with an un_bear_able reaction! How tragic! Truly only someone such as I can be of use to help open up that heart of hers!"

"Knock it off dude," Yosuke said, "you're the last person that she should have. Well as we turn to the other side of the arena we got - what the furlong!?"

Back in the field, a toxic cloud had overcome a good chunk of the area! From behind their desks, Rise, Noel, Chie, Yukiko, Orie, Scharlachrot, and Marie were all KO'd!

"Well," Teddie said, "we anticipated something like this! It looks like from cooking so close together, Noel-chan, Yuki-chan, and Chie-chan just to name a few have caused a deadly reaction! And even nearby competitors like Orie-chan and Sharlie-chan are also caught in the blast!"

"Seems whatever they were adding there," Yosuke said, "has caused them to all get crushed under the weight of their own incompetent cooking."

Far away, Cinder was snickering in delight! Turns out, it wasn't really anything that they had added. But by combining their own lethal creations with a sprinkle of just a few additives had caused the cloud of gas that completely took them all out! Leaving her ripe for the victory.

"Aw, what a shame," Mai said, chewing on something. "And their food was so good too, it would've won out to be sure!"

"Wait," Hyde said. "Mai, what're you eating?"

"Oh," Mai replied, "Noel asked me to taste some of her food, so I did, and the other girls asked me to do it too."

"Wait a minute!" Yosuke said. "You mean you're actually eating that slime?!"

"Huh? Yeah," Mai replied. "Want some?"

"NO!" the others collectively replied.

"A-anyway," Yosuke said, "we're just about out of time. So let's see the dishes... from whoever's left standing. Mai-chan, you're up first!"

"Uh..." Mai giggled. "Well I was so busy eating that I didn't actually make anything."

"I still don't even know how you're physically fine after all of that," Yosuke said, "but I'm just gonna count it as a miracle and move on with my life without having to think of that any further. Weiss-chan, you're up next."

Weiss, Saki, and Nanase all had their heads aimed at the ground with their bodies slumped over. "Don't tell me," Yosuke said, "none of you made anything either?"

"We were too distracted by trying to help this girl speak correctly," Saki replied.

"It was a lost cause," Weiss replied.

"Shut up," Nanase said.

"Okay then," Yosuke said. "Uh... what was your name over there?" he asked Cinder.

The girl aimed a glance over at them, before she suddenly realized something. She was so busy sabotaging the competition she didn't bother making anything either. She felt something snap inside of her as she merely continued staring, not dropping her confident look, as she struggled to find a way to salvage this situation.

"I... I'm just a passer-by," she said. "Just... observing the situation."

"Huh," Yosuke said. "Okay then."

_Goddammit! _Cinder internally swore. _I can spend months working to destroy Beacon Academy but when trying to win over one measly boy I totally blow it! I don't deserve to be a criminal mastermind if I botch something as simple as that!_

"So Ruby-chan," Yosuke said, "did you get anything?"

"That I did!" Ruby said, holding out a plate of cookies.

"Wow," Yosuke said. "Well, go ahead Hyde. You're the boy she's rooting for after all."

"Uh, okay," Hyde replied. He took a bite of a cookie, and immediately felt a flood of sweetness and bliss overtake him! "Wow," he said. "These are seriously good!"

"Really?" Ruby asked. "Awe thanks man!"

"So," Yosuke said, "looks like Ruby-chan wins be default."

"I'm just surprised that she didn't turn super-Huntress back there and try to fight like everyone else," Teddie said.

"Huh?" Ruby asked. "What do you mean? Was something supposed to happen?"

"I think what my companions mean," Rachel replied, "is that you are clearly the one whom loves Mr. Kido the most seeing that you were totally unaffected by the Spectacles."

.

.

.

"Huhhh?!" Hyde replied.

Hyde could only stare at Ruby! Did she really love him like that, and the Spectacles totally didn't affect her!? He was at a loss for words, all he could do was stare at her! Stare at her eyes. Her... her silver eyes. Eyes such an unnatural silver. And yet so... beautiful.

* * *

"Hyde are you okay?" Linne asked. "You've been out of it all morning."

"Don't worry about it," Hyde replied. "I'm fine." Although he really wasn't. He had the most surreal nightmare of his life that night and wanted everything in his power to just forget it. Because the weirdest part of all was he actually enjoyed aspects of it.

The dream felt real. It felt like something that had actually happened. And he really, really did not want to overthink about the hows and whys and things like that. He just wanted to move on and forget anything that had happened there.

But he couldn't forget what had occurred. Hearing that Ruby seriously liked him. What was his mind telling himself? Was it because they had gone on that date, and there was something in the back of his mind telling him to try more stff like that? That couldn't be it. It was just a platonic meet-up, he'd never gone on a fully fledged date in his life.

As he looked down at his companion he silently thanked his lucky stars that he didn't see her during the incident. That would've made things all the more awkward given the androgynous status of their relationship.

They soon arrived at the Beacon Academy lounge area, where he saw most of his friends and allies sitting around like normal. He was showing up to drop off Linne for babysitting before heading out for his guy's night out. For real this time. And obviously he didn't tell Linne it was for babysitting lest he desire a busted kneecap.

In one corner he saw Weiss and Weiß sitting next to each other at the counter discussing something as Yukiko, Chie, and Noel tried cooking something. "So, in conclusion," Weiss said, "while we may share some similar qualities, in majority we are not that alike at all aside from our names."

"Correct," Weiß replied. "But it's convenient we now organized the pronunciation of my name in difference to yours."

"Similar to," Weiss added, "how now we mostly refer to Shirogane or Kurogane as their last names as opposed to their first names whenever they're together."

"Correct," Weiß added.

In another corner, Zwei was sitting on Heart's head as she did her best to ensure that the corgi did not fall off at all. "Look, look Saki!" she said. "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!"

Saki could only sigh from her position not far away.

"Okay," Yuzuriha said, "that is seriously adorable."

Orie was laughing to herself nearby, as she saw Hyde approaching with Linne. "Hello Kido," she said. "How are you?"

"I'm alright," Hyde said. "Just dropping off Linne before heading for my guy's night out."

"That sounds like fun," Orie said. "Mika, Kaguya, Lex and I were thinking of doing something similar with Wagner at some point."

"That's great to hear," Hyde said. "Well, I hope you have a good time."

"Likewise," Orie replied.

"Oh no!" they heard. They both turned to see that the "food" that Noel and the others had been making was boiling over! "Aw great!" Chie said. "Now we can't use it!"

"Really?" Mai asked, curiously approaching. "Let me see." Before anyone could stop her, she took a bite of the food, and hummed happily. "Tastes great to me! You three should cook together more often!"

"Really?" Yukiko asked. "You think it's good?"

"Oh Mai," Noel said, "you're always so sweet!"

"Ha!" Chie said triumphantly. "Look at that! Looks like those guys were just overreacting all the time! Our food is fine!"

She took a bite of the food herself for emphasis, only to have it instantly knock her out before she even brought the spoon to her mouth! "Chie!" Noel and Yukiko yelled, as Mai continued eating, totally oblivious.

Hyde could only look on in horror! _She's eating that atrocity totally fine in real life too!? _he thought fearfully. _Oh God no! The dream's becoming a reality!_

"Gotta-go-Orie-bye!" he said.

"Oh! Uh, bye Kido!"

Hyde promptly turned around and took off, saying goodbye to Linne as he went. He didn't see Ruby anywhere, which was probably for the best. He still didn't know what to think after that trippy dream. Ruby was one of his best friends, and he just didn't feel right trying something like that after all he's already gone through.

From her corner of the room, Heart stopped playing with Zwei and held the dog in her arms as she watched Hyde leave. She knew what he was going through, she had seen it all. Truth be told, she was actually semi-responsible for that vision that Hyde had seen.

They had hung out the other night, just played some games, nothing special. Once it got late, Hyde had offered to walk her home and when she was outside her house she gave him a hug as thanks. And that's when she tried something out. She felt Partinias in her heart (redundant I know) and shared some of her powers with Hyde, to help him find his love.

But what happened next was beyond chaotic! Heart was there, fully aware in the shared vision as Hyde was, and she did everything she felt would be right as the vision ran its course! She did it with the best of interests in mind, but she didn't know that Hyde would feel so... sad afterwards.

_This can only mean one thing, _she thought to herself. _Hyde Kido is suffering from... a broken heart! _As she thought this, she squeezed Zwei too tight and the dog yelped in pain! "Whoops! Sorry Zwei!" she said.

"Everything okay Heart?" Orie asked.

"Yeah yeah," Heart said, "totally fine!"

"Okay," Orie said. "Hey, do you mind if my friends and I stop by the bakery la-?"

Heart put a finger to Orie's lips, holding Zwei under her free arm. "Say no more," she said. "You don't even need to ask."

"Thanks Heart," Orie said, once Heart had released her. She went about her business, but it was by this point that Heart noticed something else about her. The sad look in her eyes, the way she kept checking back to where Hyde had just left.

She hadn't anticipated it before, but there was something about Orie that she hadn't accounted for. The way she always wanted to hang out with Hyde and this little bit of something akin to disappointment whenever he was with another girl while they were hanging out. _Oh no, _Heart thought. _We've got another one!_

_I've been so dead set focused on Ruby and Hyde that I never once considered that we could be dealing with... A LOVE TRIANGLE!_

* * *

"_**So confused, so blind. The wheels of fate turn and there is no telling where things might go next.**_"

"Well I might," Hazama said, sitting off to the side, taking a sip of his drink in delight. The mastermind gained a dumbfounded look on their face as they heard Hazama interrupt what was going to be a terrific villainous speech.

"_**Hazama,**_" they said. "_**You should know better than to interrupt me whilst I'm in the midst of proud declarations.**_"

"Yes, yes," Hazama said, "well it's not my fault that I've been given such great permission to come here. Actually, last I checked, it was yours."

"_**I only tolerate your assistance,**_" the mastermind said, "_**Because you and I are kindred spirits. You could prove useful to me, that's all.**_"

"Uh-huh," Hazama said. "That's not what you said last time when you so rudely stole my Blue Keystone and booted me back to my dimension."

"_**I was underestimating the power of allies back then,**_" the mastermind said. "_**Now is this going anywhere or will I have to fry you as punishment for wasiting time.**_"

"No, no," Hazama said. "I was merely saying that it's been a long time coming, but I'm finally going to get my shot."

* * *

_**Author's Note: Well this was certainly something else. Yup, I can safely call it that.**_

_**So this was a request by zer0heroes, who requested to see Hyde dealing with the Spectacles of Eros from one of the infamous Gag Reels of Blazblue. Naturally, this idea quickly spun out of control afterwards, and I feel I did a pretty fun job at it.**_

_**So a few things to note. Obviously I had Heart as the one responsible given that she's the love addict, and I quickly thought of more of what I could do with her after that and see what else it could lead to in future chapters. I had naturally decided that it was going to be a dream afterwards, however thinking more about Heart's side of things I soon learnt more of what I could do with it and make it more like a trippy vision trip as Heart is constantly looking to be the Ship-Lord of the BBTAG scene. It would also explain some of the character choices here.**_

_**As for Teddie and Hyde, given that the original had Arakune and Kagura hosting the last one, I knew I had to have something similar here and these two were the first choices to come to mind and I think it went wonderfully!**_

_**And finally for the choices we had here! Not much to say on them, a good few were just returning characters, and some were making their very first cameos in this story like Marie and Labrys from Persona, Lilica and Kamui from Arcana Heart, Nanase and Yuzuriha from UNIB, the latter I cannot believe I've waited this long to showcase, Nu-13 from Blazblue, and the always lovely (and deadly) Cinder from RWBY. Expect her to be taken a bit more seriously in the future.**_

_**I naturally had a few other characters that I felt may appear, but let's settle those now. I didn't inclue Platinum or Tsubaki as I found them both difficult characters to work in considering I have actually been for the most part done with this chapter since about three days ago and didn't want to waste more time blowing it up more before finally getting it out there, plus with the whole Luna and Sena situation going on with Platinum things are kinda weird going on there. And any other character from RWBY or Arcana Heart just didn't come to mind, and once more by the time they did things were already for the most part done.**_

_**Once again, I thought this chapter was loads of fun. I know some might find it odd to have another ship chapter right after doing one already, but this was an older request to begin with, plus it was more focused on comedy than anything.**_

_**For some more reader responses, first off another one from "fernandamichelleraya" on the last chapter, thank you for your response on the chapter, I felt it was all kinds of cute and fluffy myself, and feel happy knowing that Hazama has FINALLY arrived. And also, Black Sun for life!**_

_**And for "Kinaki747," personally I would like to NOT think about the ramifications of seeing all those girls cooking in such close proximity, the sample of what we got here was as close as I would ever want to get to anything like that. Thanks for the feedback on the situation with Orie as well, I was half-pondering exploring their relationship more in-depth already so yo just kinda spurred that along more, as we see a bit here.**_

_**And thank you so much for your kind comment about inspiring you. You truly do not know how much that means to me, and I feel totally happy every time I reread that comment, and I only hope to continue inspiring you later on.**_

_**Keep the requests coming, I'll get to most as soon as I can, and as for the next chapters in terms of what to expect, can anyone else say, "calling all the monsters"? Also, please be sure to let me know, for those of you who have also looked at my old work, if you think I should take it down or leave it up, I personally don't care either way, and I personally feel a bit embarrassed keeping it up with how much I've evolved just since then. With that said, thank you as always for reading, have a fantastic day, and take care!**_


	14. We Are Monsters

He was. And yet he should not be. He can't, yet he is. He didn't even know if 'he' was a 'he.' What he did know, is that he was Merkava.

Merkava was a Void. A monster that lived to drain the EXS of everyone and everything. Such a creation was born of humans falling into insanity from the Abyss. But Merkava's mind was intact. He should not be, but he was.

Merkava hunted and his searches brought him to the Emerald Forest outside of Beacon Academy. He was too far away from other people whom he could drain EXS from. But he found himself here because of another breed of entity. The Creatures of Grimm.

These monsters were something which brought even Merkava to feel disgust. Such abominations born of only heinous destruction and lust for the end of all things. They did not feel, they did not even live.

Meaningless creatures in Merkava's eyes. How could a creature live purely for destruction? While Merkava certainly wasn't winning any favors by draining the EXS of other people, at least he had his reasons. It was nature. But there was nothing natural about these Grimm. They were disgusting.

He could feel the evil coming off of them in waves as he traversed through the forest, until he found one that was dubbed a 'Griffon' ripping a bear apart and eating its flesh. He knew that the Griffon didn't need to eat it, as he understood that Grimm never really fought animals lest provoked, he could feel it. But the creature was doing so because it _wanted _to. That definitely pissed him off.

The Griffon looked at Merkava skeptically. It was probably trying to understand what Merkava was, and if it should fight him. So Merkava kindly obliged.

With a firm slam into the ground with one of his tendril-like arms, he broke off a part of it, which turned into a smaller Void that lunged for the Griffon, and effortlessly dug its way through the Grimm's neck and sliced its head clean off! However, that only brought the attention of more. More Creatures of Grimm were drawn in by the attack, and Merkava looked to the air to see a flock of Griffons now descending upon him!

Merkava leapt up into the air, and his arms snaked out and caught onto the necks of two Griffons! He used them to pull himself higher into the air, before with clenching his fists tight, he snapped their necks! While in midair, he snaked his arms all over, slashing at a few Griffons, nothing lethal, just a few jagged scars that were enough to make them keep their distance! When his momentum dropped, he grew out a pair of wings from his arms and took to the air himself! His Jormungandr FLS certainly came in handy for situations like these.

The Griffons roared as they descended upon him again! They made several fly-by slashes at him which Merkava expertly dodged around by twisting and looping around in midair! He flipped over one Griffon, before changing his wings back into claws, and grabbing onto the Griffon's own wings! He ripped them off, causing the Griffon to drop, as he tossed one wing aside and stretched out his claw to punch straight through the Griffon's heart before it even hit the ground!

About two Griffons closed in on him, forcing him to whip his claws around to make them get off of him! He stretched out an arm to another Griffon, and pulled himself back up into the air before he hit the ground! The Griffon struggled to remain aloft, as Merkava pulled himself back up and slammed into the Grimm's body, before effortlessly ripping it in half!

He reformed his wings, and looked out onto the other beasts as they continued to fly at him! There were about five left. Normally Merkava would make observations about his enemies as they fought, curious about what they were and what they desired from fighting him. But he didn't bother this time.

He knew there was nothing about these Grimm. They were beasts that desired only destruction. Any thought that was in their heads extended only to what they could do to bring a blight onto the world they were on. And if they somehow found the means to extend to another one of the worlds out there, they wouldn't even care, and would merely continue with their mindless purpose.

The Griffons flew at him, as Merkava dropped his wings, and snatched onto the necks of two Griffons! They dragged him along, as he twisted around and forced the two to collide together! They dropped from the air, as Merkava grabbed onto a tree and watched them dig a trench in the ground!

The Grimm struggled to stand back up, as Merkava pondered about leaping in for the kill. When suddenly, the tree he was standing on was instantaneously decimated, toppling over like a domino as Merkava fell along with it! He slammed into the ground before he could attempt to catch himself, disorienting him, as he struggled to try standing back up.

When just then, he saw what had caused him to topple like that. A massive shadow had loomed over him, and he looked up at his assailant. A very, very, big, Sphinx.

* * *

Hazama was a man that prided himself on his lack of empathy or basic human understanding. Being born with literally no soul in his body, being just an empty shell, he could not feel anything. Not a spec of love or sympathy in his body. The most he got, was a genuine entertainment of those he saw around him.

Which was why, at the current moment he was in, he took great enjoyment in watching the 'Merkava' entity battling for his life against the Creatures of Grimm. Already having a foreknowledge on the Voids and Merkava specifically, he knew it was only a matter of time that Merkava would encounter the Grimm. It was his nature after all.

He watched with that same wolfish grin on his face, as the Sphinx burst from the treeline, Merkava crawling all over the Sphinx's body, doing everything to keep out of reach of the creature's claws or teeth, as he raked his claws roughly around the Grimm's body! He landed on top of the Sphinx's back, slamming more smaller Voids onto the creature's body, before reaching up and snaking his arms around the Grimm's head and holding fast onto its neck! The Grimm roared in anger, as it thrashed around, trying to remove the biting Voids and free itself from Merkava's grasp!

The smaller Voids bit down and actually began to burrow into the Sphinx's body! The Sphinx roared as it rolled around on the ground, steamrolling Merkava into the earth, and actually killing the smaller Grimm! The Sphinx got back up, and roared as it grabbed Merkava with its jaws, biting down hard on the Void's body! Merkava roared out in pain as he began clawing the face of the Sphinx, gouging out its eyes! The Grimm roared in pain, dropping Merkava, whom promptly jumped back up and dug his own jaw into the Sphinx's neck!

Finally, Merkava launched off and took to the air, growing out his wings, as it swung forward and used his wings like a drill to slice off the Grimm's neck! With about three swipes, the Sphinx's neck was decimated and the Grimm instantly fell over dead! The body began to disintegrate, as Merkava stood back on the ground, his wings folding back into his arms, as he roared out victoriously, any other Grimm that might've been watching the fight cautiously sneaking away!

Hazama jumped down from the treeline and clapped happily at the sight. Merkava watched him with intrigue, his face totally lost of any emotion as the Serpent Fang walked over. "Such a great performance," Hazama said. "Truly you are much more remarkable an entity than these lesser creatures."

"Fascinating," Merkava said, analyzing Hazama with a tilt in his head. "You and I are mirror images of each other. I have shattered my human shell in favor of this beastly form, but you... You are a beast, yet choose to cover yourself with a human shell."

"Oh please don't lump me in with you," Hazama said, waving off the comment. "I am far beyond the likes of you. But I don't deny, I find you could be useful in my cause."

"I do not align myself with others," Merkava replied. "I am a hunter, and choose to live my enigmatic existence without the burden of other individuals."

"Is that right?" Hazama questioned. "Even if I gave you the promise of finding meaning in your existence?"

"What are you saying?" Merkava questioned. "What could a beast such as yourself possibly have to offer me?"

"For one thing," Hazama said, holding up a finger, "don't call me a beast. I find it to be quite rude. And secondly, I am currently working with allies that have the means of finding relics of unimaginable power. The very capabilities of rewriting reality itself. Even a creature such as you can see the benefit of such power. You could be whatever you wanted to be, and give your life whatever direction you wanted without having to be hindered with your otherwise... conflicted existence."

"But why would you even want my help?" Merkava asked. "If you are truly working with such allies as the ones you describe, what help would you wish to find in throwing your lot in with myself?"

"Because," a silky voice nearby said, "you are unique, Merkava."

The Basilisk of the Abyss turned to see the form of a young woman with a voluptuous form for her age, wearing a ruggish outfit with brown cargo pants, and a leather vest with only a couple of bands around her chest to hide her modesty. She walked with a strut in her step, and Merkava could practically feel the pain and hollowness of her coming off in waves. How she could live with a look of anything but abject horror and anguish on her face was an enigma to him.

"You are a creature that should not be," Cinder said. "You live a life that defies explanation. And that, I find to be very curious. And you've already shown yourself a capable warrior. If you work with us, we can give you whatever you want, and all we ask in return, is for you to decimate the enemies we ask of you."

Merkava looked at Cinder for another hot minute. He found her greatly intriguing. "You are a being that has stolen something grave," he said. "Your body is in agony from the power you've stolen. A broken chasm struck right through your mortal coil. How can you even survive?"

Cinder smiled. "Pain is beyond me," she said. "I find enjoyment out of it. But I feel you can relate quite a bit to a lifetime of agony, no?"

Merkava merely continued to stare.

"At least think about it," Cinder said. "We'll stay in touch, I can assure you."

She and Hazama walked away, leaving Merkava to stare at them curiously. Beings of such anarchy and lack of humanity. Perhaps they could be people that he could find some way to relate to.

* * *

The next morning, Hazama had a particular skip in his step as he walked through the halls of Beacon Academy. He was very happy with himself about the other day, feeling his 'meeting' with the Basilisk having gone well. And now he had even more good news for Cinder to look at.

He stepped over to the door that lead to the room that she and her puppets were staying in during their operation to destroy Beacon Academy. He gave a quick knock, before letting himself in. The only ones that he saw inside were Mercury, Neopolitan, and Emerald. His smile dropped a peg as he looked at them, finding no enjoyment out of seeing these children in his sights.

Cinder was one thing to live with, given that she was actually somewhat like him with the idea of being utterly inhuman and seeing no amount of empathy or basic care for human life. But these others were nothing more than toys, little playthings in her master plan that Hazama could at least appreciate. At the very least he found Neopolitan as kind of cute in the fact that she was a little sadist. He figured with the right tutelage he could turn her into a fun little monster.

"Where's your master?" Hazama asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"Hello to you two psycho," Mercury replied, leaning back on one of the beds as he read a comic.

"Why do you ask?" Emerald replied, playing on her scroll. Neo merely just tilted her head curiously at him.

"I have an important message for her," Hazama replied. "And I must'nt be late. So I'll ask again, where she is?"

"She'll let you know when she wants to talk to you," Emerald replied. "You don't go looking for Cinder, she comes to you."

"Oh how adorable," Hazama replied. "Your blind devotion to her genuinely is precious. Really. The very fact that you have the capacity to speak without her is something to be admired."

"Excuse me!?" Emerald said. Mercury was honestly holding back a snicker as he heard that trade-off.

"Oh don't laugh too hard," Hazama said. "She and you are very much two sides of the same coin."

"Huh?" Mercury asked.

"That's enough you all," Cinder said, slipping past Hazama as she entered the dorm room. "What do you want now, Hazama?"

"Well," Hazama replied, "I've come to let you know that our meet-up with Amnesia is set. We'll head out for Kanzakai at midnight."

Cinder smiled menacingly. "Excellent," she said. "It's about time I got to meet Paradox in person. I've heard a lot about her. Thank you very much for bringing this to me, Hazama. I'll be sure to dress my best and we can head out together."

"I'm glad to hear it," Hazama said with a tilt of his hat. "Until then, I'll see you later."

He slipped out of the doorway, Emerald and Mercury glaring daggers at him as he left.

"Stop it," Cinder said.

"But," Emerald said, "didn't you hear what he said to us?"

"Of course I did," Cinder said, "and you can get over it."

Neo did a lot of pointing and desperately looked at the others with her eyes changing from white or brown paired with pink.

"Yes," Mercury replied, "we get it. He's a lot like Torchwick. Get over it."

Hazama continued to strut through the halls of Beacon Academy as if he owned the place. Nobody from the staff even knew he was there. He just slipped inside without notice, and would slip out just as easily. That's how he worked.

But, there was one place he wanted to stop at before he took off completely. He gave a quick knock on a particular door as he made his way out, and waited patiently for the owner to come out. Sure enough, a familiar red hooded figure opened the door and bounced in surprise at the sight of him.

"Hazama!" she said. "What're you doing here?"

"Hello, Miss Rose," Hazama replied. "I was just hoping to get a chance to see you as I visited some... friends here."

"Oh, well it's good to see you," Ruby said. "I haven't gotten a chance to do that in awhile. We've both been pretty busy, huh?"

"Indeed," Hazama said. "Which is why, perhaps in the next day or so, we could meet up? I'd love to get a chance to talk to you about how your life."

"Oh, thanks," Ruby replied. "Well, I've got about as much free time as you could ask for. So, whenever you want to meet up, just let me know and I'll make it work!"

"Excellent," Hazama said. "Truly excellent! Well, until then, I've got to get myself ready for a meeting tonight. Until then, ciao!"

"Buh-bye!" Ruby called, closing the door behind him as she turned to see the surprised expressions of her teammates, plus Yu Narukami, all looking at her. "What?" she asked.

"Ruby," Yang said, "could that guy have been anymore shifty?"

"What, what do you mean?" Ruby asked.

"He's clearly up to something," Blake replied. "It was almost as if we were looking at a twisted mirror of Torchwick."

"As if Torchwick himself wasn't twisted enough," Weiss said.

"Oh get over yourselves," Ruby said. "Hazama's nothing like Torchwick! He's much more of a gentleman than that loser will ever be! He just wants to hang out, that's all!"

"I'll have the police on speed dial," Yu said bluntly.

"Knock it off!" Ruby said. "And wait a second, what're you even doing here? Aren't you supposed to be having a guy's night out or something?"

"The author thought I wasn't getting nearly enough focus," Yu replied, "so he decided to use this opportunity."

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked.

Down the hall, Hazama was smiling deliciously to himself. All the pieces were falling into place for him. Merkava would join his side, no matter what, Cinder was proving a capable accomplice, and soon Amnesia would find its way to his cause as well. Now all that's left is that little Ruby girl.

"Little Rose, little Rose," Hazama said, "what's the secret of your silver eyes? I will find out, even if I may have to go to... drastic measures."

* * *

Far, far away, sitting on his throne made of System XX within the Phantom Field, the mastermind of all the antagonists was watching with intrigue. Hazama was proving a useful pawn, however his inner nature and lust for anarchy was proving a near uncontrollable variable. Something that would need to be strongly disciplined in the near future.

Still, they couldn't deny that Hazama's own musings were proving true. All the pieces they would need were falling into place. Hazama, Cinder Fall, Merkava, Hilda, and even more would all prove to be useful pawns in the future. Not even Salem would be able to surpass what they have accomplished. And that, indeed, brought a smile to their face.

"_**Your move,**_" they spoke to an unseen opponent, somewhere on the other side of the board.

* * *

**_Author's Note: No, that joke I made about Yu wasn't just there as a joke. I genuinely did feel that Yu wasn't getting nearly enough focus upon looking back at some of my earlier chapters, thanks to focusing so fiercely on the shipping side of things. For that, I strongly apologize, and I hoped this vicious violence of this chapter was a suitable apology._**

**_Yeah, the fight between Merkava and the Grimm was something I made in a single sitting and I was so engrossed with everything I was doing! I really enjoyed it. However, due to several distractions I wasn't able to finish up the later parts of the chapter, until I simply just sat down and let my mind run wild while hyped up on caffeine._**

**_Aside from that, we have the follow-up on Hazama in here, alongside Cinder Fall. I liked having Hazama's own inner thoughts and lack of empathy focused on here, which I felt went well in hand with Merkava's innate ability to sense the inner-self of most people or things. By the way, the outfit we have Cinder wearing here is her casual attire from Volume 3 with the tape across her chest. I actually really liked that design, so expect it to be worn by her quite a lot more in the future with whatever I, or perhaps you guys, think of having her do._**

**_Other than that, the other villains are gonna be showing up a bit more in the near future. I already have the meet-up between Amnesia and the other villains in the future brewing in my head._**

**_Not much else to say. I hope you did enjoy, and let me know what more you want to see in the near future. Until then, thank you as always for reading, and have a good one!_**


	15. Guy's Night Fantasizing

Yu Narukami was known as a 'kingpin' for a good reason. The guy lived a life that positively exuded confidence and self-assurrance that acted as a form of attraction for everybody around him. Especially the ladies.

Although Yu's romantic inclinations are an enigma to anybody, there was no denying that he also had a large fanbase of girls, particularly those in his own team. It's been theorized by a good number of people that pretty much _every _girl in the team was infatuated by him. Not just Rise who seemed to believe it necessary to point out her obvious crush on Narukami, but all the other girls too, including Chie, Naoto (Shirogane), and Yukiko.

It's even been brought up that some of the girls that the leader of the Investigation Team had met from the other worlds might have feelings for him too. Either way, none of it seemed to phase Yu Narukami. Truth be told not much ever seemed to phase him. Which is why his current hostility towards his partner and good friend Yosuke Hanamura seemed... concerning.

The both of them had gone for a guy's night out with the other gentlemen they'd met from the other worlds, as a chance to pursue some semblance of masculinity amidst the vast number of (slightly scary) girls they'd been spending a great amount of time with recently. Already, the guys had gotten a good dinner and were now spending time at an arcade, but currently Yu was sitting with Yosuke at a booth in a corner, delivering a long, hard glare at the Prince of Junes.

Not far away, Naoto (Kurogane) and Ren were challenging each other to an arcade fighter, Sage and Scarlet from Team SSSN, Teddie, and Hyde watching with enthusiasm. Neptune, Sun, Kanji, and Jaune were walking around with each other checking out some different games they might play. Seth had turned down the offer to hang out, probably off doing an assassin thing from what Hyde's best guess was. Which left Yu and Yosuke to merely look at one another in the corner.

"Uh... Narukami?" Yosuke asked. "You're kinda... worrying me with that glare dude."

"Am I?" Yu asked. "Sorry, I was just thinking of everything I don't like about you right now."

"Say what?" Yosuke asked.

Truth be told, Yu had noticed that Yosuke was getting a bit of... "action" recently. He'd gotten a few practice matches with Yuzuriha recently, looking for some extra skills when the most recent fight came around, upon seeing the skill that the likes of the Beacon Academy students had. And those had ended fairly... interestingly.

* * *

Yu had recalled well from when he had gone to pick up Yosuke for a lunch with Hyde, and entered Yuzuriha's dojo. "Hello?" he called. "Yuzuriha-san, I came to grab Yosuke and was wondering if you guys were... done...?"

"Oh, hey Narukami-kun," Yuzuriha said. "It's cool, we were just about finished. Weren't we Yosuke~?"

Narukami could only stare at the sight before him. Yuzuriha was sitting on top of Yosuke, pinning his wrists to the ground and looking right down at him. The poor artificial brunette was redfaced as he looked up at her.

The most embarrassing fact was that Yuzuriha wasn't even that much older than the both of them, so the position they were currently in was raising a ton of red flags to the Kingpin of Steel. And Yuzuriha had no qualms with this whatsoever. In fact, she seemed to be enjoying it.

* * *

Yu's mind was reeling with these facts. He'd found them in... similar positions a few other occasions whenever he'd gone to grab Yosuke for another trip. There was even one time that she'd somehow managed to entangle their legs together, their hips dangerously close together to one another. Yosuke had brushed it off casually after that just by thanking his lucky stars that Yuzuriha had gotten that close so as not to dig her heel into his groin, but Yu was no even considering that and was merely picturing the many ways in which Yuzu could've finished... closing the gap.

Then there was also Yang Xiao Long, Ruby's older sister. She seemed to actually find Yosuke funny, and would pull his chain every now and again. She seemed to laugh at Yosuke's expense like anyone else, but did it in a manner that was more fun and not so insulting.

* * *

One night, Yu and Yosuke had been spending a night over at Team RWBY's dorm room, naturally not informing the teachers of the fact that two guys were spending time with two girls in their dorm room under their nose, with Blake and Weiss having gone out for an overnight visit to the organization run by Heart's accomplice, Petra, the Celestial Union. Yu had challenged Ruby to a card game, and as the young reaper continued to get more and more tired, her ability to beat Narukami went down further and further. She hadn't really been able to beat him at all beforehand, but this was just getting pathetic.

"I win again," Yu said, as he laid down one last card on the deck, as he and Ruby sat across from each other on Ruby's bed.

"Darn it..." the Rose Red sat drowsily. "How're you so... *Yawn!* good?"

"I know a long nosed guy in a blue room in my dreams," Yu replied.

"Fine," Ruby said. "Don't tell me!"

Yu wasn't really being that sarcastic. In his visits to the Velvet Room, even though it wasn't the master, Igor himself, who taught him a thing or two, Marie had challenged him to some card games and trained him to gain some skills. Margaret was the one who was particularly instrumental in instilling the instructions and strategies in his head, Marie meanwhile just gloating and calling him a moron for the times he lost, and insulting him for winning when Margaret had instructed him on the best way to win.

"Let's go again!" Ruby said, Yu noticing her swaying back and forth.

"Ruby-chan," Yu said, "you might want to go to bed now. You're quite tired."

"No way!" Ruby said. "I want to... keep... going... til'... I..." Too late. Ruby fell forward and Yu caught her and laid her down on his chest, allowing the black haired girl a chance of rest. It was after midnight after all, so she deserved to sleep.

"Watch where you put those hands Narukami!" Yang called from the floor. "I'm watching you."

"Yes ma'am," Yu said, smiling at the adorable sight of Ruby sleeping.

"Come on!" Yosuke said, breaking the enjoyment. "How did you beat me again!?"

Yu looked down, witnessing that Yosuke's character on the screen was decimated by another special move from Yang's. The two had been playing Injustice 2, with Yosuke's Blue Beetle having gotten decimated by Yang's Black Canary... for the fifth time in the past hour alone.

"What can I say Hanamura?" Yang asked, dancing happily at her victory. "My Black Canary game is a _scream_!"

"Yang-chan," Yosuke laughed, showing no hard feelings, "that pun barely made sense."

"But it was still... _punny _wasn't it Yosuke?" Yang asked, badding her eyelashes.

"I'm not going to reply!" Yosuke said, crossing his arms.

"You will after this," Yang said, grabbing Yosuke and putting him in a headlock as she began to noogie his head!

"Hey, hey!" Yosuke said. "Watch the hair!"

"Not until you respect the puns!" Yang said.

Yu delivered a loud "Shush!" to the both of them. "Think of the children," he said, pointing to Ruby sleeping in his arms.

"Sorry," Yang and Yosuke said.

* * *

Yu didn't get any romantic intrigue between Yang and Yosuke, as Yang's romantic titilation was nearly as much an enigma to Yu as his were to... well, everybody else. But the connection between them was just bizarre, as on the surface Yu would get the impression that Yang would treat Yosuke no differently than Chie.

But then there was Makoto Nanaya. There was no denying the connection between the squirrel-girl to Yosuke. And to have Yang and Yuzuriha on top of that, Yu Narukami felt a bit of a resentfulness.

He felt that his role as the Kingpin of Steel was threatened by Yosuke somehow managing to find a bit of a stable foundation with the girls from the other worlds. Yu knew in his heart that there was nothing outwardly wrong with Yosuke forming strong bonds with anybody from the other dimensions. In fact, given how important Yu knew relationships were, he encouraged it. But with the romantic undertone, Yu felt honestly threatened by his own best friend.

But at the moment, it was Yosuke who felt threatened as his partner continued staring at him with this... dangerous glint in his eye. "Uh... Narukami?" Yosuke asked again.

"Everything okay over here senpai?" Kanjia asked, walking over with the other guys in his group.

"Fine," Yu said firmly. "How are you all?"

"Ah, we're doing great!" Sun said, popping a seat inbetween Yu and Yosuke, the Prince of Junes feeling greatly relieved now with human shields separating him from his partner. "This was seriously a great idea guys, we should keep on doing it!"

"So," Jaune said, "what's going on?"

"Uh... right now," Yosuke replied, "I'm not entirely sure. How about you guys?"

"Well," Neptune said, "we were trying to help Kanji and Jaune when it comes to dating advice."

"Oh no," Yu and Yosuke said, proceeding to look over their shoulders.

"Is something wrong?" Neptune asked.

"We were just making sure Heart-chan was nowhere nearby," Yosuke said.

"Seriously," Yu replied. "That girl has become very dangerous when it comes to that."

"We're just lucky she's been too busy trying to hook up Ruby-chan and Hyde," Yosuke added.

"Pity the both of them," Yu said, putting his head in his hand.

"Okay then," Sun said, raising a brow.

"Speaking of the girls," Neptune replied, "what do you think they're all up to?"

"Probably the usual," Jaune shrugged.

"And what does the usual entail?" Kanji asked.

"Pyrrha will be training," Jaune said, "before probably studying with Weiss or Blake, and Nora will be trying to consume as much sugar as she could, before moving on to probably smothering Zwei and Koromaru with love."

"Seems about right," everyone else replied.

"But what about the others?" Sun asked. "I mean, you guys can't tell me you're not curious."

"I'm not curious," Kanji said bluntly.

"Ouch!" Sun said, feeling the hit from that one.

"Come on Kanji!" Neptune said. "It's only natural to fantasize over this."

"He does have a point," Yosuke said, rubbing his chin.

"Ooh! Are we talking about the ladies!?" Teddie asked curiously, walking over with Naoto, who was hanging his head in shame. The strange bear creature had disposed of his mascot suit and was currently in the small, blonde body that he'd... grown.

"Hey guys," Jaune said. "Yeah, we were. Uh... what happened to Naoto?"

"Ren totally decked me," Naoto replied. "So, Hyde's taking him on now."

"I see," Neptune replied. "Well, we were just wondering what the girls might be doing now since we're all out here."

"Ooh!" Teddie said, waving his hand around. "I have an idea!"

"Okay," Sun said. "What do you got?"

"Well~" Teddie said, promptly causing his teammates to look on with great fear at what he could be coming up with.

* * *

_Weiss was walking through the halls of Beacon with nothing to do. She was so bored out of her mind with none of the guys around. She came to a stop as she walked and looked to her right to see Noel staring out a window. "Hello Noel," she said. "What are you doing?"_

_"Oh Weiss," Orie said, "I just can't take it. I can't handle the fact that Teddie is gone."_

_"Really?" Weiss asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why do you say that?"_

_"Because Teddie is positively hot, why else?" Noel replied._

_"Well that's a problem," Weiss said. "Because I find Teddie hot too! So you'd better step back before I believe you want him to go on a date with you!"_

_"Well that's a problem here too!" Noel "Because I _do _want him to go out with me!"_

_"No!" Weiss said, stepping right in front of her face. "You will not!"_

_"Just try and stop me!" Noel said._

_The two proceeded to get into a cat fight, tearing each others' clothes with nothing but their nails! It was a good thing that Yuzu and Yang were walking by and managed to jump in and managed to separate them!_

_"Hold up!" Yuzu said, holding onto Noel. "What's going on here!?"_

_"I can't let her go out with Teddie!" Noel and Weiss said simultaneously._

_Yuzu and Yang looked to each other. "It's okay," Yang said. "We understand. We like Teddie too. So how about this?"_

_Yang was holding Weiss and pulled her closer, and began rubbing the side of her cheek. "What say we give him a real surprise when he gets back?"_

_Weiss and Noel looked each oher in the eye, as they inched closer together. "Okay," they both said, their faces turning bright red, as their lips got-_

* * *

"Woah, woah, woah!/Stop! Stop it!/Cut that crap out now!"

Teddie's fantasies were cut short as Yosuke, Naoto, Yu, Sun, and Neptune all got up and began frantically waving their arms and getting directly in his face to make him cease!

"Good grief man!" Sun said. "I did not need to have that put in my head!"

"What?" Teddie asked.

"Dude!" Yosuke said. "If the girls knew you were having... _yuri _fantasies about them they would not hesitate to literally kill you!"

"I could've guessed you were a Freezerburn fan," Yu said.

"What?" the others asked.

"I don't see the big deal," Teddie said, before pointing to his left. "They didn't seem to mind."

The others looked at Kanji and Jaune, whose faces were burning hot and nosebleeds pouring down their faces.

"Guys! For real!?" Naoto demanded.

"Gah!" the both of them said, rubbing their noses frantically.

"We-we did not enjoy that!" Jaune said. "We were just too... awestruck to bother speaking up."

"Y-yeah!" Kanji said. "It's not like I like that shit, man!"

"Guh, whatever," Neptune said, rubbing his head. "I'm not one to undermine a good fantasy, but that was going a little too far. So, anybody else have any more... likely ideas of what the girls might be doing?"

"I've got one," Yu said.

The others looked at him, and were somewhat fearful of how far he was going to go with his own fantasy.

* * *

_Ruby giggled to herself mischievously, as she felt her plan coming to fruition. She peaked over the top of the chair she was looking at, and saw Marie writing her poetry peacefully to herself. Ruby got up to her feet, without Marie noticing, and brought the airhorn up. With a firm press, the airhorn went off and Marie leapt a foot into the air, screaming at the top of her lungs!_

_Marie looked to Ruby, who was laughing happily to herself! "Ruby!" Marie yelled. "You scared the living daylights out of me!" Ruby cackled delightfully as Marie began chasing her down, Margaret off to the side as she merely watched the shenanigans take place._

_Ruby was chased out of the Velvet Room, until Marie tackled her to the ground before the Rose Red could use her Semblance to get away! Ruby fought to get away, as Marie continued to wrestle with her to keep her down! "You will not get away!" Marie said. "You will pay dearly for doing that!"_

_"I-I'm sorry!" Ruby laughed. "It's just you always seem so cranky, I couldn't help it! You remind me too much of Weiss, so all I could think of to get you moving was to annoy you!"_

_"Well too bad," Marie said, holding Ruby's wrists too tightly for the red hooded girl to ever think of getting away. "Now you get to pay me back."_

_"Okay," Ruby shrugged. "What did you have in mind?"_

_Marie smirked devilishly. "Well..." she said._

* * *

"No! No! No!" Naoto said, waving his arms around.

"What?" Yu asked.

"I can see where that crap's going!" Naoto said, pointing accusingly at Yu. "You're gonna have Ruby 'repay' Marie by having her do... dirty!"

"No I wasn't," Yu replied.

"Let's let him continue," Yosuke said.

"Trying to think of what senpai thinks," Kanji added, "never works."

Naoto groaned. "Okay," he said. "Continue."

* * *

_"So," Yang said, "all Marie asked for from Ruby was to act as a headrest for her to use while she was writing?"_

_"Yes," Margaret replied._

_"And to ensure Ruby didn't speak to distract her," Weiss added, "that is why she ductaped her mouth shut?"_

_"Correct again," Margaret said._

_"That's it?" Blake asked._

_"Yes," Margaret said. "I can assure you I was here the whole time and didn't permit any physical abuse." Her eyes traced back to the sight of Ruby and Marie on the sofa, sleeping contently with Marie resting her head on Ruby's chest, with Ruby holding the girl closer with her arms, her mouth indeed having been taped shut._

_"Besides," Margaret added, "I think the sight you see before you is enough to tell you that nothing bad happened to your leader, no?"_

_"I... suppose," Blake added._

_"Why haven't I ever thought of taping Ruby's mouth shut?" Weiss asked._

_"Because you knew I would crush you if you did?" Yang replied._

_"That's it," Weiss said with a snap of the fingers._

* * *

Yu came out of his fantasizing and looked to the others. The other guys were merely looking at him with curious looks.

"I suppose," Jaune said, "that's innocent enough."

"How did Ruby-chan even get in that Velvet Room you mention all the time?" Yosuke asked. Yu shrugged in response.

"And did Marie have to tape Ruby's mouth shut?" Naoto asked.

"Yes," Yu replied.

"To be fair," Yosuke added, "it does fit with what Marie-chan's personality is like."

"I don't think that request fits with Marie-chan," Teddie said. "She would request that Ruby-chan come with her to the hot springs and have Ruby-chan help scrub her down!"

"You really need to pull your fantasizing out of the gutter!" Sun said firmly.

"Well," Teddie said, "what do you think the girls are up to?"

"Me?" Sun asked.

"It'd probably have to do with Blake dreaming about you, huh?" Neptune said mischievously.

"Hey, dude!" Sun said, his face reddening. "You don't have to bring that up!"

"Come on man," Jaune said, "we all know you like her."

"Just as much as we all know you like Pyrrha," Yu said bluntly.

"Gah!" Jaune said, his own face now turning bright red.

"Well you like-!" Jaune said, pointing at Yu, but unable to come up with a way to finish his statement. He couldn't think of anybody that Yu had a crush on. "Uh... uh..." was all that came out.

"That was a no win battle," Kanji said.

"I know that now," Jaune said, hanging his head. "Well, what do you think?"

"M-me?" Kanji asked, face turning red.

"Kanji's too innocent to think of anything interesting," Yosuke said. "Allow me."

"Who're you calling 'innocent'!?" Kanji asked angrily. But it was too late. Yosuke's mind was already running away with itself, as he began to fantasize.

* * *

_"Wooohoo!" Chie cheered, running straight into the ocean! "This was a great idea!" she said as her head emerged from beneath the waves!_

_"Guys are away," Yang said happily, "so the ladies can play!"_

_The group of girls laughed and cheered as they swam around the water, the rays of the sun reflecting off the water that glistened on their flawless skin! Yukiko swung her moistened hair back as she stood out of the water, looking like the gorgeous Aphrodite herself as she was born from the water!_

_"How are you doing Orie?" Yukiko asked, seeing the Executor standing on the shore, holding her arms across her chest, looking not remotely comfortable as she stood in her swimsuit._

_"I'm... I'm alright," Orie replied. "Just not used to something like this. My friends and I never really did anything like this while training in the Licht Kries."_

_Yang strutted out of the water like the sexiest mermaid alive, her swimsuit hugging her voluptuous body like a glove! "Come on!" she laughed, pulling Orie into a moist embrace. "You can't just parade around like Weiss all day as if you got a stick shoved up your booty! You gotta learn to have fun!"_

_She pulled Orie into the waves, the both of them laughing with delight!_

* * *

"Uh... Yosuke?" Naoto asked. "You do realize it's night right now, right?"

Yosuke merely blinked. "Huh," he said. "Well that ruined it."

"H-he didn't get to describe Naoto yet," Kanji said.

"Huh?" Naoto asked. "What do you mean?"

"Uh..." Kanji said. "I-I mean I just wanted him to keep going. Nothing to do with you."

The others could only sigh. "No!" Hyde yelled out. The others turned to see the Unknown Actor slumping over and falling off his chair in defeat, as Ren looked at him with a mix of worry and confusion, Sage and Scarlet awestruck by the perfect victory he'd achieved.

"Looks like Ren is a destroyer," Sun said, his tail wagging with intrigue.

"True enough," Yosuke added. "Hey Hyde, you wanna take a break and let Kanji take a crack at him?"

"Huh!?" Kanji said. "Wait, I didn't agree to that crap!"

"Get in there man," Neptune said, he and Teddie grabbing his arms. "Your eager public is waiting."

"Hey, quit shoving!" Kanji said, as he was dragged away by the others.

"Wow," Yosuke said. "That managed to get rid of Teddie too. Score!"

"Hey guys," Hyde said, his body slumped over in defeat.

"It's okay man," Naoto said, patting his friend on the back. "I feel your pain."

"So," Hyde said, managing to pull himself up straight, "what've we all been up to?"

"Thinking about what the girls are doing," Sun shrugged. "And let's say some of our friends here have had some pretty... let's say creative ideas."

"Well I have a feeling of what Linne's doing," Hyde said.

"Oh yeah?" Yosuke asked. "What do you think the little princess is doing?"

* * *

_Linne could not believe the indignity of this! Hyde had actually managed to dupe her into being... babysat! The moment that Hyde Kido got home, she would singlehandedly take the Insulator and shove it right down his throat!_

_"Miss Linne?" Litchi asked. "Could you please grab me that bandage?"_

_Linne, continuing to glare out the window, merely reached behind her and tossed the bandages to the physically older woman. "Thank you dear," Litchi said._

_The busty woman had just finished nursing Nanako's leg and put the bandage over it. As Nanako had been playing with Mika, she had gotten a little too rough and skinned her knee something fierce. "There now sweetheart," Litchi said. "No more tears now, it's all better."_

_"Is Nanako going to be okay-Yuu?" Mika asked nervously._

_"I-I'll be alright!" Nanako said, hopping to her feet and testing out her legs._

_"Try not to be too rough now you two," Litchi said. "Especially you Mika. Nanako's smaller than you are."_

_"Okay-Yuu!" Mika said. "Come on Nanako, let's go play again-Yuu!"_

_"Okay!" Nanako laughed. "Linne, do you want to come?"_

_"No," Linne said bluntly._

_"Okay!" Nanako said._

_"Hey Litchi," Platinum/Luna said, "we couldn't find any of that Dust stuff you were asking for!"_

_"It's okay," Litchi said. "I can always ask that kind headmaster for some later. Why don't you just go with these two to play?"_

_"Play?" Sena asked._

_"Oh yeah!" Nanako said. "Do you want to play, Platinum?"_

_"Yeah, yeah-Yuu!" Mika laughed in delight._

_"Well... I mean," Sena said, "if it's not that troubling..." "Fine!" Luna said firmly. "But only if Sena likes it! If you start making him uncomfortable, we're done!"_

_"Okay!" Nanako and Mika said happily, Mika naturally adding 'Yuu!' at the end of her word. They each grabbed one of the Trinity's hands and ran off to enjoy themselves, Litchi laughing motherly at the sight. Even Linne couldn't help but feel a warmth inside over watching the girls enjoying themselves._

* * *

"Wow," Yosuke said. "Hard to believe that both you and Narukami have your own 'little sisters' to look out for."

"Yeah," Hyde said. "Although my little sister is a little... different than Yu's."

"You and Linne aren't remotely related, huh?" Naoto asked. "While Yu and Nanako are at least cousins."

"Still doesn't stop her from calling him 'big bro,' eh?" Sun said.

"True," the others agreed.

"So..." Sun added. "Anybody looking to try out that wrestling ring we saw coming in?"

The others looked to that wrestling ring in question. The platform was off in a corner that anybody could pay to use for exhibition matches. The guys had a curious feeling about it as they came in, but were mainly looking for a cool time and not really a fight.

"Not sure," Hyde replied. "I'm not that into it."

"Me neither," Jaune added. "I'm cool with just relaxing."

"Same with me," Naoto replied. "Plus if Haruka knew that I was fighting, she'd probably wreck me."

"Wait..." Sun said. "Aren't you cousins?"

"HUH!?" everyone said.

"Goddammit," Naoto said, hoping and praying for a distraction. Well, he got one.

Suddenly, Yu backflipped into the wrestling ring, his jacket disposed of and his button-up shirt coming undone, revealing his ripped and slightly scarred torso to everybody, glasses miraculously on his face! He glared at his companions, and raised a finger to the sky, before aiming it directly at Yosuke! "Get in here," he said.

"Uh..." Yosuke said, sweat manifesting on his brow. "I'd rather not."

"Get in here," Yu repeated.

"Yosuke I think you'd better do it," Jaune said.

"What!?" Yosuke said. "Don't just throw me to the wolves! Er... wolf!"

"Get in here," Yu repeated again. Before Yosuke could fight any further, pretty much every other guy in the group pushed him into the ring, standing across from Yu! Yosuke could only sigh as he tossed off his own jacket.

"Okay," he said. "Just... let's take it easy, alright?"

Yu did not. The moment Yosuke got into position, Yu lunged forward and delivered a blow to Yosuke's gut! He then grabbed him by the back of his neck, and flipped Yosuke end over end, before slamming onto his back! Yu then brought down a leg onto Yosuke's torso, before backing up and allowing the Prince of Junes back to his feet!

"Dude!" Yosuke said, tears in his eyes. "What's the deal!?"

"Come on," Yu said. "This isn't the first time we fought. Hit me! Hard!"

Yosuke obliged by punching him right between the eyes, and sweeping his legs out from under him! Yu jumped back up before Yosuke could hit him again, and Yu kicked Yosuke in the side of the knee! Yosuke delivered a blow to Yu's ribs, and slammed him into the corner post!

Yosuke tried to punch Yu multiple times, as Yu blocked the hits with his forearms, getting a chance as he kneed Yosuke in the gut! He clapped his hands against Yosuke's head, and flipped over to his back again! Yosuke threw his limbs around to block Yu's attempts to continue the attack, before Yosuke threw a headbutt into Yu!

"Wow," Jaune said. "They're really going at it!"

"Seriously!" Kanji said. "What's up with senpai?"

Yosuke's efforts were valiant as he threw blow after blow around, before Yu was able to knock her from her feet, and elbowed him into the ground! He then pinned his arms down, and Yosuke was beaten!

"Okay," Yu said. "I feel good now."

"What!?" Yosuke demanded. "What're you even talking about!?"

"Don't worry about it," Yu said, standing back up and helping Yosuke to his feet.

"Well," Sun said. "Glad that's settled."

"Maybe," Hyde said, still awestruck at the battle, "we should call it a night. I should bring Linne home soon, after all."

"We should do this again sometime," Yu said.

"Not the beating the crap outta me part, right!?" Yosuke said.

"Hmm..." the others said.

"Guys!" Yosuke said.

* * *

Turns out, in reality, the girls were doing nothing like what the guys had been "imagining." In reality, the group had gathered in Heart's bakery, gorging themselves on pastries as they played video games.

"You'll never beat me thunder thighs!" Ruby yelled.

"We'll see about that cookie monster!" Saki replied.

"Get her Ruby!" Yang cheered.

"Show her who's boss Sa-Sa!" Heart added.

"Look out Saki!" Mai added. "Here comes trouble!"

"No!" Saki yelled out, executing a vicious combo to ensure Ruby didn't use her special attack!

"Let her go you monster!" Weiss yelled.

"Not happening!" Noel said. "Saki's got this in the bag!"

"Not this time!" Ruby declared.

Off in a corner, Marie was watching with a baffled expression on her face, Vatista and Weiß watching with her as literally everyone else watched the fight with intrigue. "Do we want to get closer to that?" Weiß asked.

"Don't," Marie said, biting into a doughnut. "Please."

* * *

_**Author's Note: And with that, the long awaited guy's night out chapter is officially over! This was a request from an unnamed guest, so I hope that you enjoyed! I got to say, this is another case that as I kept writing it, I found more and more enjoynment out of it!**_

_**One of the things that I had the worst time thinking of, was what exactly I was going to have the guy's do. So I ended up just thinking of the most natural idea that came to mind, which was them fantasizing what the girls were up to.**_

_**So, I hope that I didn't make anybody too uncomfortable with Teddie's yuri fantasy. I really do think that would be something he would imagine, and if you disagree that's fine. But it was the first thing that came to my head when it comes to what fantasies came up and it did not leave.**_

_**I had also had the idea of Ruby bothering Marie in the Velvet Room forever ago, and it just sort of came back when I was writing this and felt that it would fit well. I also think that Yosuke fantasizing over the girls going to the beach was also a natural idea as well. Fun fact, for the RWBY light novel simply titled, RWBY: The Session, we got to see "official" designs for Team RWBY in swimsuits, but I unfortunately haven't seen a full body image of the group aside from the cover, but I hope I can eventually so I know how to properly describe them for what I deem to be an "epic" trip to the beach in the future.**_

_**Anyway, the idea of Linne being babysat by Litchi from Blazblue was also one of the handful of suggestions from Neptunia56. That idea bounced back into my head as I was thinking of this, as I knew that both Hyde and Yu would need to know where to drop off Nanako and Linne for their night out. I always like it when I can integrate multiple suggestions together like this.**_

_**But probably the best idea I had from this whole list, was Yu getting jealous of Yosuke! Now, like it was mentioned, Yu wasn't really bitter over Yosuke for any legitimate sense, but I did find the idea of Yu feeling his status as the Kingpin threatened by Yosuke having a few girls get interested in him as a fun gag that I could bring into this one, with Yu challenging him to a ring match!**_

_**On a slightly unrelated topic, Joker the protagonist from Persona 5 has finally dropped in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and let me tell you I was as excited as the next guy to hear that! He looks like a super fun character to play, and as an avid Smash player I can tell you that I totally picture him being one of my mains... when I eventually get the game... and a Switch to play it on. **__**Yes, sadly I don't have the money to buy a Switch, let alone plus the game, the Fighter Pass, and a controller that'll be comfortable to play with, but hey I'm not here to complain to you guys, I'm here to write stories for your entertainment!**_

_**Anyway, this was a lot of fun and I hope that you enjoyed too! Keep the requests coming, and I hope you have a fantastic day, and I'll see you all later! Goodbye!**_


	16. The Eagerness of a Rose

Ruby Rose had many facets to her personality, or at least she liked to think so. She was an aspiring hero with a strong sense of justice. But simultaneously was a sweet young girl full of life and color. But if there was one thing that Ruby always prided herself on, was her love of weaponry!

Ruby was somewhat obsessed with weapons, loving the different fighting styles and what type of weapon might compliment another person, and not to mention their different modes and capabilities! Whenever she came across a new weapon, like Reese Chloris's hoverboard, Sun's bo staff, Nebula Violette's sword/crossbow just to name a few, Ruby went into full blown chibi mode and would fangirl for several minutes straight!

But if there was one thing that Ruby could not tolerate, was if there was room for improvement. She had been building Crescent Rose pretty much as long as she could remember, and wanted to always make it better than her latest designs so she could become that much stronger! Which was something she felt nowadays with her friends' weapons!

There was a hot minute where she was considering to adjust her teammates' weapons to become stronger, and even adjusted their outfits to compensate and compliment the adjustments. Weiss was not the happiest about that, but Blake and Yang were a little bit more understanding with the way they turned her down. But if there was one thing the silver-eyed girl definitely knew had to change, it was the weapon choices of her newer friends!

Orie merely used a standard rapier like Weiss's own, minus the Dust obviously, that was as thin as a twig! Yukiko only used a fan! Chie barely used any weapons save for her legs, and a pair of hidden blades in her sleeves! Heck, Kanji didn't even use a weapon at all aside from carrying a folding chair sometimes! The hecks!?

The only person that Ruby was somewhat okay with was Hyde's sword, the Insulator. That thing left Ruby in chibi-mode when she first saw it it was so cool. And from Hyde and Linne's comments, it sounded like it could literally kill anything! Which was awesome.

As Ruby was still scribbling on some paper, she giggled to herself as she recalled when she first saw Insulator.

* * *

_"That's so COOOOOOOOLLL!" Ruby said in glee!_

_"Eh?" "Huh?" Chie and Yosuke wondered. Hyde himself was stunned and took a step back with a surprised "Wha-!?"_

_"What is THAT!?" Ruby asked. "It's AMAZING! Did you make it yourself? What's its name?"_

_"Huh?" Hyde asked, utterly baffled by the girl he was looking at. "Name...? Well, it's Insulator, I guess, but..."_

_"That's awesome..." Ruby said, awestruck. "But where did it come from just now?"_

_"Actually, wait, don't tell me! Hmm... You didn't have it out a minute ago, so it's gotta be... Nope, can't figure it out, I give up. I have no idea!"_

_Promptly after frying her brain in her attempts to understand where Insulator came from, she jumped back up immediately with enthusiasm! "What'd you make it out of!? Does it transform!?"_

_"Wh-what's with you!?" Hyde said, now even more taken aback by Ruby's nature! "Look, it's a sword, I dunno what it's made out of, and I don't think it transforms! Ugh, you're driving me nuts..."_

* * *

Ruby continued laughing self-consciously as she recalled that memory. It was definitely not the most ideal meeting between her and some new people, just a step away from being as awkward and uncomfortable as when she first met Weiss if it hadn't been for how obsessed over Insulator she was. But it was all cool now, as she, Chie, Hyde, and Yosuke were among the best of friends.

She couldn't deny how impressive Insulator was. She often saw Hyde practicing with it, learning how to harness his "EXS" - Void Red - through the blade and creating attacks powerful enough to fell mighty oaks. The same attacks, as shown later, were even strong enough to knock down the strongest of Grimm like Beringels, Deathstalkers, King Taijitus, Sphinxes, and even Nevermores. A part of her felt that it didn't feel right to try changing such a badass weapon. But, at the same time, as she often saw with Crescent Rose, she could see where improvement was able to grow.

"Is that a sword?" she heard, pulling her from her musings. Ruby turned and saw Octavia from Team NDGO walking past, her outfit Ruby recalled seeing her most in having been replaced by a denim jacket over what looked like a sports bra, and a pair of jean shorts.

"Oh, hey Octavia," Ruby said, feeling a little self-conscious seeing that she didn't really know Octavia that well... or anybody from Team NDGO for that matter... Y'know, just to make a full point, let's just throw in pretty much anybody from the Vytal Festival tournament under that same banner. But to make matters worse, she was also not the most presentable right now, as the moment she had woken up that morning she zipped over to the library to get to work on designs without even bothering to get dressed, and was still wearing her pajamas.

"Y-yeah, it's a sword. But it's not mine. It's my friend's sword, I was just coming up with some upgrades for it."

Octavia put aside her steaming glass that Ruby guessed was coffee given the dark color, and the redhead leaned over Ruby's shoulder to take a closer look at the drawings. "A holster for Dust on the handle," Octavia observed. "That can charge the blade with different Dust energy, okay that's pretty standard. And is that an extending chain to grow on the blade or something?"

"Yeah!" Ruby said happily. "I was thinking of doing something like what my Uncle Qrow uses on his own weapon! It can transform into different modes, but I didn't know how to change that with my friend's weapon, so I figured why not have maybe some growing metal over the blade that can create a massive weapon, like this one guy Ragna's GIGANTIC blade! I was kind of inspired by this one movie I watched where this guy transformed a suitcase into a suit of armor-!"

Octavia planted a hand over Ruby's mouth, and looked her right in the eye. "Okay," she said. "I get it. Thank you."

"Sorry," Ruby said, after being released. "I was just really enthusiastic about this!"

"I can see that - _clearly_!" Octaiva said, a smirk on her face as she raised an eyebrow. "But, you have more?" She said this as she looked over the pages on the desk, that showcased more and more different weapons.

"Yup!" Ruby said happily. "The weapons from some of my other friends really need some improvements! So I was just thinking of what I could do to make them better!"

"I see," Octavia said, rubbing her chin. "You really have some epic designs. Quite the imagination you got there."

"What's this about?" Nebula, another member of Team NDGO said, as she approached the red themed duo. She was also wearing a different outfit, with a pair of skin-tight black pants, with a purple button-up shirt, but that same darker purple, pirate style coat on her back, merely thrown over her shoulders and her sleeves hanging loose.

"Uh... Ruby, right?" Octavia asked, eliciting a nod from the red-hooded girl. "Yeah," Octavia continued, "Ruby here was coming up with designs for her friends' weapons."

"Oh really?" Nebula asked, looking over the weapons designs on the desk. "Wow," she said. "This is some pretty interesting looking weapons."

"Thanks," Ruby said, blushing slightly as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I was putting a lot of work into this."

"Clearly," Nebula replied. "Are you going to work on these?"

"Of course!" Ruby said, jumping to her feet and pumping her fists! "I can't just sit back as my friends are without awesome weapons to fight monsters! Whether they be Grimm, or Void, or Shadow, or whatever the heck is on Ragna's world! I got to have them ready for anything!"

Octavia and Nebula looked to one another. "Void? Shadow?" they asked. Ruby gawked at the both of them, recalling that they probably weren't familiar with the other worlds out there.

"F-forget I said anything," Ruby said. "Bottom line! I got work to do!"

She gathered up her designs, feeling that Octavia and Nebula's compliments were enough to tell her that she was good to go, and zipped off to the forge to get to work, with a flurry of rose petals scattering behind her.

"She's a bit of a dork," Octavia said, "isn't she?"

"Yeah," Nebula replied with a nod. "But good thing she's Team RWBY's dork, not ours."

Nebula continued walking, as Octavia scratched her head curiously. "But what if I want her to be our dork too?" she asked. Nebula nearly fell off her feet in response!

* * *

"Hmm..." a thoughtful tone said through the halls outside the forge, as somebody else was as thoughtful and curious as Ruby was at the moment. Velvet Scarlatina, Team CFVY's lovable, rabbit-eared Faunus was looking through her camera, looking for some good photos that she could share. She had hoped to go out to Vale today, which was the reason behind why she was wearing her casual best, which consisted of a long, gray coat that bore her emblem on the back (naturally), with a red zip-up shirt with a matching scarf, a pair of jeans, and brown boots. However, Velvet had gotten a request this day that she couldn't refuse.

That gray-haired, (incredibly handsome) guy from that group Team RWBY and JNPR had been hanging out with simply called "The Investigation Team," had asked if Velvet could share a couple of pictures of Remnant to bring back to this girl named Marie. Velvet was happy to oblige, but was currently coming up with no luck.

The main issue that Velvet had was the fact that she mainly used her camera to take pictures of weapons to use with her Semblance. While somewhat confusing on the surface, Velvet's camera which doubled as her weapon, created hard-light copies of the weapons of other people that she could couple in with her Semblance to mimic the fighting styles of other people. She didn't usually take pictures of things like people directly, or landscapes and areas because, what would be the point?

But now Velvet was feeling bad about this fact because she didn't have any pictures she could share with this Marie girl. And the way that Narukami guy put it, it seemed like this girl could really use something to broaden her horizons. Velvet hung her head down as she felt the crushing blow of defeat.

Her ears began to twitch (which looked as adorable as it sounds) as she heard something odd going on in the forge. A sort of... squeaking, and, chattering sound? Amidst the standard sparks and grinding of the forge that Velvet had grown used to hearing whenever she passed by the forge. After a few moments, Velvet was able to recognize the sounds of the chattering and squeaking as the noises of a particular person that Velvet had met with a few times before.

"Ruby?" she asked. Velvet walked over to the forge and opened the door, getting punched square in the face by a billow of smoke! She coughed and gagged, her eyes instantly tearing as she tried to wave the smoke away in vain!

"R-Ruby?" Velvet asked, stepping into the forge. "Is that you? Are you in here?"

"Oh hai~ Velvet~!" Ruby's voice replied. "How's-goin'?"

Velvet raised an eyebrow. Ruby was sounding weird. Well, to be fair, nobody on Team RWBY typically screamed "normal," but this almost sounded like Ruby was flat out drunk.

As the smoke finally died down, slipping through the open windows and door, Velvet caught sight of her underclassman and nearly leapt from her skin in response, her ears standing straight up like a startled rabbit at the sight that lay before her! Ruby's body was covered in ashes and soot, and her skin was bright red underneath, which must've been from the proximity to the smoldering furnaces, as Velvet also saw that it looked as if every single source of heat in the forge was blazing hot! Ruby's clothes were stained black, and probably useless by this point, but to Velvet's further confusion it also appeared to be her pajamas and not her casual-wear or even her uniform.

But that wasn't even Velvet's top concern at this moment. What was, was the fact that Ruby's face looked to be very... mangled. Not only was her face as stained by soot and smog as the rest of her body, but her uniquely silver orbs were red and watery, with bloodshot cracks zigzagging everywhere, and although it was hard to tell on the surface, Velvet had a feeling some dark crescents were hanging under there too that indicated Ruby had not gotten as much rest as she _clearly _needed! But the girl didn't seem to have any issue with any of this, as she looked at Velvet with a somewhat disconcerting smile.

"Uh..." Velvet said as she continued to stare at the sight of Ruby. "Ruby?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah!?" Ruby asked... enthusiastically.

"Uh..." Velvet said again, looking at any other direction she could think of, before laying her eyes on something that caused her to blush. "Where are your pants?" she managed to ask.

Sure enough, Ruby's pajama bottoms were gone and she was now wearing only her panties beneath her tank-top. "Oops!" Ruby said, giggling awkwardly. "I-uh, had to get rid of them since they caught on fire!"

"I see," Velvet said, taking off her coat and handing it to Ruby, the length of it managing to hide Ruby's modesty. "And, pray tell, why did they catch on fire? What exactly have you been doing in here? You're a complete mess!"

"Well," Ruby said, "I was working on new weapons for my friends!"

"Really?" Velvet asked.

"Yeah!" Ruby said. "Come see!"

She pulled a pair of greaves from a cooling bucket, the metal still appearing blazing hot, which brought Velvet more concern as she looked at Ruby handling them! "Look at these!" Ruby said. "I paired them with Gravity Dust, that way my friend Chie can have even more powerful kicks! Look, lookie!"

She hastily strapped the greaves to her legs, gritting her teeth and going, "ow! Owie!" a few times as they were still blazing hot! With them strapped down, Ruby delivered a kick to a bucket, creating a purple shockwave, as the bucket flew out the window and to parts unknown!

"See?" Ruby asked. "I wasn't even trying that hard!" She removed the greaves and managed to put them down gently to the side, as if she were handling a child. "And-and-!" Ruby said, pulling out what looked like a fan! "This thingy I paired with a gemini mechanism between wind and fire Dust that could allow my friend Yukiko to project her attacks! She can even combine them to create fire tornados or something awesome like that!"

She did a few practice swings, shooting gusts of wind, before flicking a switch on the handle and then creating fire waves! "See? See?" she said happily.

"Uh... Ruby?" Velvet asked, holding up a finger, but clearly Ruby was not listening!

"And next one-!" she said, pulling a blazing sword from the forge, making Velvet's heart to leap into her throat! "This one, is for my friend Orie! She can use this sword to transform into a gun! Duh!"

"Y'see, I made the blade collapsible like Blake's, but I was also kind of inspired by Weiss's sister Winter, so I decided to do something kinda like both! So, she can split the blade into two different rapiers, and also both blades can be sucked back into their handles, and shift them into dual pistols! Y'see, I put the barrel as the bottom of the handles, and then you can just flip them around and use them like so-!"

"Ruby be careful!" Velvet said, grabbing the sword and putting it into the cooling bath! "That thing is still blazing hot! You might not get scars or burns from Aura, but it'll still hurt like 'ell!"

Ruby blinked a few times. "'Ell?" she wondered.

"Yes!" Velvet said.

"You mean hell?" Ruby asked.

"That's what I said!" Velvet said.

Ruby blinked a few more times. She then giggled and poked Velvet's nose. "You've got such a thick accent!" she laughed. "It's adorable!"

Velvet rolled her eyes. "Ruby," she said. "You need to get some rest."

"No!" Ruby said, waving her hands around. "I still haven't finished my masterpiece! I got to finish Hyde's weapon!"

"Not in this condition," Velvet said. "You need a bath, a nap, and at the very least, pants!"

"Hello?" a new voice said, causing Velvet to turn on her heel to see three of the members of the Investigation Team she'd just been talking to earlier, Yu, Chie, and Yukiko, enter. "Ruby-chan?" Chie asked. "You in here?"

"Perfect!" Ruby cheered, clapping her hands happily. She aimed a cocky glance to Velvet. "You'll see!" she laughed.

"Ruby-chan?" Yosuke asked, looking at Ruby nervously. "Are you okay?"

"Perfect!" Ruby said. "Especially now! Look at what I got!"

She handed Yukiko and Chie their finished weapons and demanded that they use them. Not one to turn down Ruby's enthusiasm, or just too scared to try denying her in her current state, the girls complied and did as instructed.

The both of them couldn't deny that they definitely felt more power out of these weapons than their standard tools. "Well, well?" Ruby asked. "What do you two think? Love them, right?"

Chie and Yukiko looked to one another. "Well..." they said. "I mean," Chie said, "they do feel stronger."

"But," Yukiko said, "these don't feel... right."

"Right?" Ruby asked. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, Ruby-chan," Chie said, "these weapons don't feel like something we'd normally use."

"They feel like something," Yukiko said, "that belong more on... your world."

Ruby was still confused. She just created such powerful weapons that were easily five to ten times more powerful than what Chie and Yukiko normally used, and they were denying them because they didn't feel 'normal'?

"I think," Yu said, throwing in his two cents, "what they mean is, we're used to our own weapons because that's what we've been training with all this time. Unlike you Ruby, we had to teach ourselves to become strong. So we've fine tuned our skills to compliment our Personas, and how to combat the Shadows in our world. Anything new just wouldn't feel right."

Ruby looked at Yu, before turning her gaze around to the floor. "I... suppose that makes sense," she said. She certainly wouldn't feel right using any other weapon than Crescent Rose, not just from her emotional attachment, but also from how natural she'd grown to fighting with it. In fact, she was so used to using Crescent Rose, she didn't really know how to fight _without _her precious scythe.

"We do appreciate the kind gesture Ruby-chan," Yukiko said, "but we just aren't ready for a big change like that. Besides, we have our Personas too, and those are really our trump cards."

"I suppose," Ruby relented. "Okay, I getcha." She began to sway on her feet, and fell over outright, Velvet hastily catching her!

"Thank goodness!" Velvet said with a heavy breath. "Now then, can some of you girls please help me with Ruby? We need to get this girl a bath and a good night's rest."

"Way ahead of you Vel-senpai!" Chie said, with a two fingered salute.

"Senpai?" Velvet asked. "What's that?"

"Long story," Yu replied.

Velvet decided to pocket that for later, as she and Chie each threw one of Ruby's arms over their shoulders and began carrying her out of the forge, Yukiko dutifully following behind them. Yu looked at the different weapons that were left behind, raising an eyebrow as he began to investigate closer.

* * *

Ruby was a pretty self-conscious girl. She didn't really enjoy many people paying attention to her at once, and was not that good when it came to just casually meeting new people. So the idea of sharing a bath with more than one person, regardless if they were girls too, was not something that she enjoyed. But, at the moment, she really was too tired to care.

She just enjoyed the sensations of the warm water, her body completely giving itself over to the sensations of relaxation and bliss, as the others began to help scrub off the soot that had stained her flesh. She hummed in delight as she felt Chie wash her hair, getting the soot out of it, the motions of her fingers raking through feeling methodical and cooling. Ruby didn't move on her own accord at all as she allowed Chie to dip her head beneath the water to wash out the soap and filth, before getting picked back up.

"Thanks Chie," Ruby said. "And, uh... sorry again to you and Yukiko for bothering you."

"It's fine Ruby-chan," Chie said happily. "Really, Yukiko and I do appreciate all your work."

"It's just," Ruby went on, "I love weapons so much that the very fact that you and the others don't have weapons like what we typically have on Remnant drove me up a wall! I just wanted you guys to have weapons that I felt would really help you out!"

"We know Ruby-chan," Chie said. "But like Narukami-kun said before, we just have our own distinct styles we've grown comfortable with and that appeals well to us!"

"I understand," Ruby said. She leaned back, as she smiled at the feeling of Chie continuing to wash her back. Ruby's mind sifted through the different people she knew and all those that she fought alongside and understood the natural fighting styles and abilities of.

Ruby looked back at Chie and smiled. "I guess I have to just find other ways to help you guys out, huh?" she laughed happily.

Chie grinned herself, as she pulled Ruby into a hug! "Oh, Ruby-chan!" she said. "You're just too awesome!"

"Gah! Gah! Gah!" Ruby said, not enjoying the sensation of the hug! "No hugging! Not right now! Not like this!"

Nearby, Velvet and Yukiko could only laugh at the sight. "It's nice to see Ruby getting back to normal," Velvet said. "Although we're not that close, we're still friends and I prefer seeing Ruby as her usual, bubbly self."

"That is the best Ruby," Yukiko said. As she looked at Velvet, she gained a thoughtful and curious look. Yukiko got closer, her eyes narrowing as she looked over Velvet analytically.

"Hm?" Velvet wondered, intrigued at the close contact. She got a supreme shock as Yukiko grabbed her ears and rubbed them!

"Gah! Yukiko!" she said, grabbing the Snow Black's wrists. "Wha-what're you doing!?"

"Oh, sorry," Yukiko said. "It's just, your ears are so cute!"

"I-I appreciate that," Velvet said. "But please don't touch them without my consent! Especially don't pull on them! I hate that!"

Yukiko's response was going into a laughing fit, letting go of the ears in response! "Y-your British accent is adorable!" she laughed. "Oh it's hard to believe you're actually older than me you're so cute!"

Velvet raised a brow as she still held onto her ears, a blush on her face. "I-I don't know what that is," she said.

* * *

Naoto (Shirogane) was not exactly happy at the moment. The others from her team were supposed to meet up with her, Kanji, and Teddie, so they could take out Marie on a visit to the 7th Hierarchical City of Kazamotsu, and they were all running late. Thankfully Naoto was able to hear from Team JNPR that the others from the Investigation Team were headed towards the forge, which allowed the Detective "Prince" a clear destination.

She soon got up to the forge, ready to open the door and get inside to see what the delay was. The androgynous girl got a massive shock when she opened that door, howver, as she got the sight of a gun barrel aimed directly at her face! Jumping so hard her hat jumped comically off her head too, she ducked to the ground and held her hands over her head, braced for a mighty 'bang!' to echo in her ears, that never came!

"Oh, sorry Naoto," Yu said casually.

Naoto looked back up, and saw her team leader holding the gun in question, as he continued doing a lot of practice motions! Naoto was now even more enraged with her bizarre leader, as she readjusted her hat and got to her feet! "Narukami-senpai!" she said. "What in the worlds are you doing?"

"I'm practicing with some weapons," Yu replied. "Ruby made these." He held out the dual guns which shifted back into rapiers that he flipped around in his hands. "These ones are meant to be for Orie."

Naoto raised an eyebrow. "Ruby-chan made these?" she asked.

"Yup," Yu replied, as he continued to swipe around in midair, creating whistling sounds from the velocity of his strikes.

Naoto looked at the greaves and fan that Ruby had made, as well as the blueprints that Ruby had left behind. "I have to admit," she said. "These are quite good. Wait, is this why you and Chie-senpai and Yukiko-senpai were late?"

"Late for what?" Yu asked, as he continued swinging his arms, seeming to not even be paying attention.

"I mean," Naoto said, her irritation returning for the third time, "the fact that we were supposed to be meeting up with Marie-chan for a trip to Kazamotsu?"

Yu ceased his motions, as his body paled and he felt as if he'd just been told his date of execution.

* * *

"Yikes! Marie-chan looks like she's going to explode!" Teddie said.

Sure enough, the poet's body was sparking with electricity as she stomped around in an agitated circle! "Where is he? Where is he? Where is he?" she demanded angrily. "Stupidgoodfornothinginconsideratejerk!"

"Where's that Velvet Room thing!?" Kanji yelled. "We need to get in there before she blows!"

"I think it may be too late!" Teddie said.

"I hate him!" Marie yelled, body positively exploding with lightning!

* * *

"I don't think I'm going anywhere near there anytime soon," Yu replied to Naoto.

Naoto merely gained a quizzical look, as she sighed in defeat. While he might be an expert on the battlefield, Naoto could not deny that her leader was basically an alien when it came to casual interactions. In fact, by this point, Naoto wouldn't be surprised to hear that Yu Narukami was truly born on one of these other worlds.

* * *

_**Author's Note: And he's got another chapter just days after the last one! I feel accomplished.**_

_**Yes, this chapter was based on a story idea suggested by 3 Question Marks, who wanted to see Ruby inventing weapons based on the others' weapons without their knowing. I'll probably explore this idea a bit further in the future, as I might not have gone as far with it here as I could have, but for now I was still really happy with this, as I truly ran off with the enthusiasm that Ruby has for weaponry of any and all kinds, and the potential for improving upon the weapons of others. I specifically chose this scenario to explore, as I feel it's been awhile since we got to focus on Ruby, and it would be good to bring her back to the forefront.**_

_**I really loved calling back to the scene from the UNIB story episode from the original BBTAG game, as that hands down is my favorite "cutscene" in the entire game, as the interactions between the characters all felt natural, especially if you know how these characters normally are, and just the novelty of seeing Ruby, Hyde, Yosuke, and Chie meeting and interacting, complete with their normal voice actors (at least in english) like Yuri Lowenthal as Yosuke, Lindsay Jones as Ruby, and Erin Fitzgerald as Chie, was great! (No mention to Hyde's english voice as this was the first time that he ever had an english voice).**_

_**This is also the first time we get to see Velvet Scarlatina, whom I'm sure EVERYBODY reading is happy to see. She's just so precious and I feel like a villain for not having her here sooner! The "design" that I chose for her was actually based on an outfit by user NaijMizuho on Deviantart, who submitted it in the contest that Rooster Teeth had for what would become Velvet's official battle gear! The outfit is honestly one of my favorite looks for Velvet, so I felt the need to give it a bit of a shoutout. You should also just check out NaijMizuho's page on Deviantart, as it's all really cool, particularly their stuff based on their SOMR AU that stars Ruby's mama Summer Rose, whose character there in terms of personality is heavily inspired by Korra from Avatar, which I can respect, as it definitely gives her a unique identity in terms of how Summer Rose is perceived in the community, where she's this precious little thing (which she is).**_

_**We also got to see Naoto Shirogane back again! Yeah, I kinda forgot about her for awhile. I felt bad about that. Also, this is the second appearance of Marie in a row that I did. Nearly three if you skip over the chapter with Hazama and Merkava. Didn't really plan that; it just happened.**_

_**I also hope that having the Investigation Team turn down Ruby's new weapons was easy to swallow. I know some would probably think, well them turning down her weapons doesn't feel right. But hopefully, at least, the explanation was enough to accept.**_

_**Last note I'll make is the appearance of Octavia and Nebula from Team NDGO. I don't really have a reason for putting them in different outfits, it was all purely just because I felt like it, so I just thought of outfits that would be natural for them to wear based on their battle gear. I mainly gave them appearances because I really liked Team NDGO when they were first introduced, a feeling that was shared with all the new teams from Volume 3 of RWBY, where the animators and artists were clearly able to really stretch out and have fun with the different appearances and combat styles of each of the characters.**_

_**Also, in the event this gives you a confused outlook on what point in the RWBY timeline this is meant to take place, allow me to tell you that it doesn't matter. This is entirely self-contained and has no real placement in any point in the RWBY timeline. It's not meant to have that, it really is just a series of drabbles where I could include any character I wanted to.**_

_**Okay, I think I went a little too far with that. Time for some responses to comments!**_

_**To fernandamichellraya, who's been a continuing reader, on their comment from "We Are Monsters," yeah I imagine that everyone's reaction to Hazama's "Date" with Ruby would be about just like that. Maybe with a bit more swearing and screaming XD.**_

_**And to the Guest user who commented on the same chapter, I feel the main reason why people compare Torchwick with Hazama is purely from aesthetic. I understand they really aren't that similar in terms of character at all, outside of that "I'm a confident, self-obsesser" attitude. The only thing they have in common is their similar taste in fashion.**_

_**Anyway, with that all said and done, thank you all so much for reading as always! I hope to update again almost just as fast, even though it probably won't happen. Thank you once more, and I'll see you all later! Good! Bye!**_


	17. Not So Grim

A/N: Warning ahead of time, this shot contains spoilers for Persona 3. So if you have not played that game, or have interest in the story at least, be aware going into this one! Secondly, if I get aspects of Ragna's identity wrong, I apologize. As I've mentioned before, Blazblue is the series I know the least about, and it's confusing narrative has helped in large part for these reasons. And finally, there will be a bit of bouncing around between time and places for this one. If that structure hurts, just let me know and I can split this story down further into different parts. You have been warned! But with that being said, I hope you do enjoy our first two part special! First of, hopefully, many more to come!

* * *

If there was one thing that Akihiko Sanada never ever thought that he would witness his friend and companion Mitsuru Kirijo, leader of the Kirijo Group, doing _ever_, it was babysitting. But low and behold, she was. More or less.

Akihiko stepped into the lab of the Kirijo Group's headquarters, and saw the crazy redhead Valkyria by the name of Scharlachrot stomping around in an agitated circle, as Mitsuru watched her with an agitated look of her own. "Do I need to freeze you in place?" Mitsuru asked angrily.

"I'd like to see you try!" Scharlachrot said.

"Please Scharlachrot," Weiß said. "You should not be hostile towards Mitsuru-san for cordially allowing us to study the Kirijo Group and their Shadow Operatives."

"Come on Sophie," Scharlachrot said. "I'm not in the mood to be polite! I'm freaking pissed off since Petra kicked us out!"

"She didn't 'kick you out,'" Mitsuru replied. "She had a meeting with the Atlesian Military, and her agents had to accompany her as her guard and there was nobody that was trusted enough to keep an eye on you. For these reasons, she found it best that you come here."

"Well whatever!" Scharlachrot said. "We all know she shipped us here because she didn't trust me to not set anything on fire while she was gone! Even with Sophie watching me."

"Well, well, well," Akihiko said as he entered the room further. "I never thought I'd see the day when Mitsuru-san was babysitting."

"What did you just say!?" Scharlachrot yelled, her right eye twitching dangerously.

"Scharlachrot," Weiß said, putting a pacifying hand on her shoulder.

"It's not babysitting," Mitsuru replied. "I'm merely keeping an eye on these two whilst their guardians are busy."

"...Mitsuru," Akihiko said, "that is basically the definition of babysitting."

Mitsuru's face reddened as she realized her companion was right. "Ahem!" she said. "Yes, well-!"

"Sup'?" a new voice said. Everyone in the room turned to see Ragna entering and continuing further into the room with his hands in his coat pockets, seeming to not even care that the others were there as he walked.

"Oh, hey Ragna-san," Akihiko said. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Ragna replied. "Kotone just left something in here when she was studying those robots of yours, and apparently nobody else could grab it."

"Ah, I see," Mitsuru replied. "I can help get it for you. I had a feeling that it would need to be returned eventually, so I had it put aside where it wouldn't be bothered."

"Thanks," Ragna said.

Mitsuru hurried along her way, as Ragna merely leaned against the wall. He felt both Weiss and Scharlachrot staring at him as he did, and met their gazes with his own mismatched eyes. Scharlachrot was looking at him with a remarkable mixture of both annoyance and boredom, whilst Weiß seemed mostly intrigued, doing that thing where she tilts her head to the side like a cat.

"Take a picture," Ragna said, "it'll last longer."

"Hm?" Weiß asked.

"You want to fight?" Scharlachrot asked.

"Ignore them," Mitsuru replied, as she came back with Kotone's tool. "They're both... unique."

"You want to fight me too!?" Scharlachrot said. "I'll freaking rip your guts out and make you eat them!"

"Scharlachrot," Weiß said _again_.

"Whatever," Ragna said. "I've seen enough shit in my life to the point that these two don't affect me in the slightest."

"I understand," Mitsuru said, placing the tool in Ragna's hand. "Well, here you are."

"Thanks," Ragna replied. He promptly turned and prepared to exit out the door, but Mitsuru held him back.

"You know Ragna-san," she said, "we don't see you very often. Whenever somebody like Ruby Rose or Yu Narukami ask about you towards Noel or Makoto, you always seem to be off doing something else."

"I have my reasons," Ragna replied.

"Well," Mitsuru said, "you should try to make the time to come over at some point. I'm sure nobody here would mind spending time with you, since most of my companions seem to be closer to your age than the others you've met."

Ragna looked at her with an unreadable glance. "We're not that much older than them," he said. "But either way, I feel that it's in everyone's best interest that they not spend too much time with me. Something might brush off on them." He simply waved over his shoulder as his parting gesture, not looking back.

Mitsuru turned back, releasing a sigh behind her. She spotted Akihiko, who had an oddly questioning look on his face as he kept his eyes on the space where Ragna had been. "You felt it too," she asked, "didn't you?"

"Y-yeah," he said. "He was... wow."

"Huh?" Scharlachrot said. "What're you talking about?"

"Nothing that concerns you," Akihiko said firmly. "Just... just leave it be." He turned and made his own way, an uncharacteristic edge in his behavior.

"Is something wrong with Akihiko-san?" Weiß asked.

"Not truly," Mitsuru said. "He's just remembering something which hurts him."

"Hurts?" Weiß asked, even Scharlachrot looking concerned.

"We had a friend of ours," Mitsuru said, "named Shinjiro. Long story short, he passed away unfortunately. But, Ragna's behavior seemed remarkably similar to him. So I'm sure that Akihiko is merely suffering from memories of the man that used to be his best friend."

"I see," Weiß said, aiming a glance at the floor. Her facial expression didn't read anything of the remorse she might've been feeling, but remained thoughtful.

Scharlachrot meanwhile was silent. Remarkably so. Mitsuru said that Shinjiro had been Akihiko's best friend. Scharlachrot couldn't ever imagine being separated from Weiß like that. If she ever was... well she just couldn't afford to even think of it.

Mitsuru meanwhile found herself remembering her time with Shinjiro. And what his life had been like. She now found herself wondering about the similarities shared with Ragna on the surface, and how he might be inside, underneath his gruff and standoffish exterior. What kind of hurting might be there he doesn't let anyone else see.

Her eyes traced over towards where the Grim Reaper had exited, and felt a tight feeling in her gut. She wondered if she should go following him, and offering to spend time with him. Just be willing to listen to the reasons why he found himself to be such a burden. If the both of them were as similar as she was thinking that could also mean...

But, no! She couldn't do that! She promised that she would keep an eye on Weiß and Scharlachrot.

However, her interest was piqued when she saw Akihiko headed towards the door in what appeared like a hurry! "Akihiko? Where're you going?" she asked.

"I'm going out," he said. "Is that a problem?"

Mitsuru didn't even need him to elaborate any further. The translation was as obvious as if he told her straight to her face. "I felt that guy reminded me of Shinjiro, therefor I'm going to see if I can talk to him. Just to put my mind at ease."

"I'll join you," she said.

"What?" Scharlachrot asked. "Hey, hold up, I thought you were gonna be watching us?"

"Did you want somebody to watch you?" Mitsuru asked.

"Not really," Scharlachrot replied.

"Then why the concern?" Mitsuru replied, taking out her phone. "Besides, I don't think this should take too long."

"Good," Scharlachrot said. "I don't want to be babysat anymore anyhow."

"All the same," Mitsuru said, "we should ensure somebody can take care of you."

"Oh come on!" Scharlachrot said. "This is bullshit! I don't need to be watched!"

"Scharlachrot," Weiß said. "If you behave like a child I take it that Mitsuru-san and the others will treat you like a child."

Scharlachrot aimed a stunned look to her best (and only) friend, whilst Akihiko began snickering. "Oh, she told you," he said quietly.

"Sophie what the hell!?" Scharlachrot yelled directly in Weiß's face, causing the paler girl's hair to flow out behind her from the velocity of her friend's words.

Mitsuru merely chuckled as she finished making a call. Perhaps getting to know the mysterious "Ragna-san" more would make for an interesting day.

"Who're you gonna be calling?" Akihiko asked.

"I think that Aigis and Labrys should be good," Mitsuru replied. "The both of them had gone out to spend some time with that Mei-Fang girl and that Lambda girl at the lab of theirs."

"Uh, do you think that'd be the best idea?" Akihiko asked.

"Why?" Mitsuru replied.

"Don't you remember?" Akihiko replied. "You know, when you let them babysit the last time?"

Mitsuru's face paled. It was... a little hard to forget.

* * *

Mitsuru's eyes were twitching as she saw the smoking wreckage of the Atlesian airship that had been on loan from General Ironwood that sat in a smoking wreck in the runway for the Kirijo Group's private airport. Lambda-11 was standing nearby, holding Kira Daidouji and Catherine Kyoubashi by the collars of their one-piece swimsuits. Penny Polendina was hiding behind the Prime Field, as if she didn't want to be seen. Mei-Fang looked positively exasperated as she put out the last of the flames with a power hose. And Vatista was just standing off to the side with her standard stoic mien.

Aigis and Labrys were standing in front of Mitsuru, prostrating in a vain attempt to appease the Queen of Executions. "So... let me get this straight," Mitsuru said slowly, "you two did not do anything, anything to keep these two children from tampering with the systems of the Atlesian airship? An airship that does not belong to their world, and has technology unlike anything that belongs in our respective universes?"

"That's right," Aigis and Labrys said sadly.

"We are very sorry Mitsuru-san," Aigis said.

"Yeah," Labrys added. "Real sorry."

"We will do what we can to personally reimburse the Atlesian military," Aigis said.

"Wait, we will?" Labrys asked, perking her head up to look at Aigis, whom promptly smacked her in the face with a loud 'clang!'

"No. Don't trouble yourselves," Mitsuru said, waving them off. "Our money will more than likely have no value in their world." Her eyes turned towards the small children Lambda was still holding onto, whom looked like puppies that had just been kicked. "I'm sure Petra and the Celestial Union can find some means for them to repay the Atlesian military through some form of community service."

"Don't pin this on me!" Kira yelled. "It's not my fault you left a powerful weapon of mass destruction within arms reach of the girl that's gonna singlehandedly conquer all the worlds!"

Lambda could only sigh silently.

"So..." Penny added quietly towards the silent robot. "Just so we're clear, I won't have to do anything, will I? Because, I just watched it all happen, not taking any part in it!" Lambda shook her head, which made Penny feel very relieved.

* * *

"Point taken," Mitsuru said. "We'll find somebody else to look after these two."

Akihiko merely sighed in relief.

"Those two are morons," Scharlachrot said.

"Are you referring to Kira and Catherine," Weiss asked, "or Mitsuru and Akihiko?"

"Yes," Scharlachrot replied.

* * *

"Look at me momma look at m-bugh!"

Jubei peeked one eye open to see the hyperactive pinkette by the name of Heart fall flat on her face in the middle of what she had said would hopefully be a very fun balancing act, by standing on top of Kanji's folding chair that she'd had standing on Waldstein's claws, still folded up, whilst balancing both Zwei and Koromaru on each hand. She sadly lost her edge when Lillica had snuck in and brushed her nose with a feather to see if she could bear it! The young demoness, and even the ginormous Waldstein, burst out laughing at the sight of Heart landing face-first on the ground, with Jubei merely muttering something about "kids."

Kamui and Konoha walked over to Heart and knelt down in front of her. "Are you quite alright Heart?" Kamui asked.

"F-fine!" Heart said as she was pulled to her feet by her companion.

"Oh Konoha was very worried!" Konoha said, as she focused her attention mainly on the dogs. "Especially about you puppies! Konoha couldn't bear to see her dog friends hurt!"

"Oh don't fret now child," Waldstein said. "Those canines have the spirits of warriors! They can take a little spill!" Koromaru and Zwei barked in response, Konoha giggling as the both of them began nuzzling her curiously.

Jubei's ear twitched as he watched the group continue to interact. Initially, it had been Kamui and Waldstein who had approached him in the middle of a grassy mountain cliffside with the desire for training. But there was no way Konoha was going to let her partner leave without her, and Lillica and Heart just decided to tag along because they would naturally do so. So, after a few practice matches Heart eventually got bored just sitting and watching and decided to do... that.

Jubei's ears continued twitching until he turned around and saw Akihiko approaching. The talking cat had met up with Akihiko only once before, so they weren't too familiar with one another. All the same, they had a mutual respect for one another.

"Ah, hey there Sanada," Jubei greeted. "What brings you out here?"

"Hello Jubei-san," Akihiko said respectfully. "Actually, I was wondering if I could have a moment to talk?"

Jubei looked back towards the group that he'd been spending time with and saw Waldstein still giving a hearty laugh as Lillica began pestering Heart by flying over head with both Koromaru and Zwei in each hands, Konoha frantically chasing after her to ensure she didn't hurt the dogs, with Kamui merely looking with vague interest. "I think," Jubei said, "I could spare a minute. Or twenty."

Jubei followed Akihiko as they walked further into the field, before Aki found a fairly large rock to lean against, Jubei walking up beside him and sitting on the top of the rock to look at him curiously. "So," he said, "what brings you out here?"

"It's true you trained Ragna, right?" Akihiko asked.

"That's right," Jubei replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Akihiko said, "I never really talked much with Ragna before, but he swung by the Kirijo Group to grab something for your... daughter, and I was just getting some serious vibes that reminded me of a friend I used to know. So I was just wondering if you could... tell me more about him? Like, does he have any... struggles?"

Jubei raised an eyebrow. He was seeing that Akihiko was not saying as much as he was feeling. Something about this friend of his must've been highly personal and stress inducing.

"I know that," Akihiko said, "from experience, anything that personal will not be your right to say. I just want to know if there's anything that he is dealing with. Something that, if he would allow it, I could help with."

"I see what you mean," Jubei said. "This friend of yours, something happened with them, so you don't want to have anything happen to Ragna because of your own inaction?"

Akihiko tensed up and it looked like he was ready to flatten the rock he was leaning against! But he kept his cool. He took a few deep breaths and was able to stabelize himself.

"I here you," Jubei replied. "But the fact is, there isn't much that can be said about Ragna. He's lived rough. He lived without parents his entire life, and lost his little sister due to an incident. It wasn't long after that I began training him, and hoped some good might come out of what he learned. He's put a heavy burden on himself, working to undermine this world's corrupt government. But it's a battle that might take a long time to end. Longer than Ragna probably has."

Akihiko narrowed his eyes. "He wants to change the world?" he asked.

"You don't really understand," Jubei replied.

"I guess I wouldn't," Akihiko said.

"What I can tell you," Jubei said, "is that it's naturally made Ragna a wanted man. For these reasons, he thinks it's best he do these things on his own."

Akihiko looked away and aimed his gaze towards the sky. "I see," he said. "And does he intend to die for that cause?"

Jubei gave Akihiko a firm look. "Why do you ask?" he replied.

"I just..." Akihiko said. "I want to make sure that Ragna doesn't do anything that'll destroy him." Jubei remained quiet, as Akihiko continued to stare at the sky, a glassy look in his eye. He aimed his gaze downward, and shut his eyes tight.

"I knew somebody close to me, my partner, my friend, and he did something that was slowly killing him. He eventually died for another reason. So I just wanted to make sure that Ragna doesn't do the same thing."

Jubei continued to look at Akihiko hard. "And why should you care?" he replied. "You don't really know Ragna, do you? Have you ever spent time with him?"

"I haven't," Akihiko replied. "But, at the same time, I don't really care about that. If I can do something to help Ragna, for the sake of people that do care about him, then I think I should do it."

Jubei seemed to gain a small smile, as he looked at Akihiko. "That's a very selfless thing for you to do," Jubei said.

"I like to think so," Akihiko said. "But now the question arises, if I were to offer Ragna a kind hand, would he take it?"

"I think that's really up to him," Jubei said. "On the surface, I really wouldn't think he would. But, at the same time, if you're persistent, he'll probably just take the easy way out and let you in, even if he wouldn't like it."

Akihiko looked at Jubei, before offering a nod. "Thank you," he said. He began to walk away, as Jubei continued to remain on his spot, before calling out behind him.

"And Sanada," he said. Akihiko turned to see Jubei, whom merely continued staring straight ahead as he sat on the rock. "We shouldn't let our past control us you know. That's a word of advice, for you and Ragna."

Akihiko didn't reply, but continued on his way.

* * *

Rachel Alucard found something of a certain charm in the minuscule cities of the other dimensions. While all major cities on her world were something of a scale that would only come from these other worlds science-fiction, the cities that truly exist on these other worlds were much smaller and less advanced by comparison, which gave them a spirit to themselves that Rachel couldn't help but admire. Remnant came the closest to being as advanced as her own world, but it was still a fair deal away.

Today, Rachel was walking about one of the largest civilizations outside of the four central "Kingdoms" that make up the majority of Remnant's population, known as "Argus." Argus was a decently sized city on the coast, nestled between the Kingdoms of Mistral and Atlas. It had a dozen different shops and meeting points that reminded Rachel of a few of the cities she'd visited in the other worlds, but with a style made up of cobblestone roads with a streetcar-like hover transport as the main transit system, coupled in with mostly brick buildings that gave the whole place a vibe that harkened to the Victoria era that Rachel had read up on from the other three worlds.

Overall, getting a chance to "study" these other worlds had proven an endeavor that Rachel truly did take a lot of pride and interest in. She couldn't deny that each and every world had its own aspects about it that she would enjoy learning more about. Particularly Remnant, as it was at least the closest to her own home.

Rachel got off the streetcar and began walking down the road, several individuals giving her a kind wave and a "hello" as she passed by. Rachel merely offered nods of acknowledgement to them as she continued on her way, merely taking in the sights of the brisk morning air. That is, until a voice she wasn't expecting came upon her.

"So this is where you were," a strong feminine tone spoke. Rachel turned and saw Mitsuru Kirijo approaching her, hands in the pockets of her oversized fur coat.

"Miss Kirijo," Rachel said, twirling Nago in his umbrella form in her hand calmly. "What brings you to Argus?"

"Well," Mitsuru replied, "to be honest, you."

"Me?" Rachel asked. "And how did you know I would be here?"

"Noel," Mitsuru replied. "She told me that you would be here."

"I see," Rachel said, reminding herself to find that artificial human and teach her a lesson for snitching. "So do tell me, to what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

"Shall we discuss it over tea?" Mitsuru asked.

"I wouldn't mind," Rachel replied. "So long as you don't have other places to be, that is. I wouldn't want to keep the soul heir to the Kirijo Group to be kept busy by myself."

Mitsuru smiled. "Oh I wouldn't worry about that," she replied. "My previous arrangement has been taken care of." At the very least, Mitsuru certainly hoped that it would be.

* * *

"You want me to what?" Yang asked.

"Keep an eye on these two," Mitsuru replied. "You're an older sister, according to what Akihiko told me, so you should be used to taking care of girls younger than yourself."

"Besides," Akihiko added, "we already got Yuzuriha here to help too. So between the both of you, all our bases should be covered."

Yang raised an eyebrow as she looked at Scharlachrot, who was laying flat on her back and staring up at the ceiling in what appeared to be immense boredom as Yuzuriha was proudly showing off her sword, Kamiji-no-Homare, to Weiss.

"Alright," Yang shrugged. "But I expect a one-on-one match after this one, Aki! You owe me now!"

"Yeah," Akihiko shrugged in turn, "I saw that one coming."

* * *

While Yang and Yuzuriha weren't the most ideal people to watch Scharlachrot and Weiss, at the very least they were the best that Mitsuru could come up with on the spot.

"Miss Kirijo?" Rachel asked. "You were lost in thought for a moment. Is everything okay?"

"Y-yes," Mitsuru replied. "Sorry Rachel-san. I didn't mean to be rude." The both of them had since found a cafe and were sitting at an outdoor table, drinking tea as they spoke to one another.

"Not at all," Rachel replied. "So, tell me, what is it you wished to know?"

"Well," Mitsuru said, "from what I understand you are one of the people that have known Ragna the longest, and I was hoping you might be able to help me to... understand him a bit more."

"Is that right?" Rachel asked. "And why would you want to learn about that little monkey?"

"M-monkey?" Mitsuru said, finding the low blow pretty hurtful.

"It's true," Rachel said, "the man behaves like an ape sometimes. I can never see him settling down with anybody with the way he acts."

"Y-you know," Mitsuru said, "that is awfully hurtful of you to say."

Rachel merely shrugged again. "Well, you may see some day. You haven't spent much time with him as of yet. And do tell, do you wish to spend more time with him?"

"Perhaps I will," Mitsuru replied. "He reminded me an awful lot of a friend I once had named Shinjiro. That is mainly why I wanted to learn more about Ragna. You see, Shinjiro did some things which hurt him, without getting too much into it, and I wanted to make sure that Ragna was... fine."

"I suppose," Rachel said, "Ragna has not been 'fine' in a very long time."

Mitsuru felt her blood run cold upon hearing Rachel say that. She was now very worried about what Rachel meant, and silently egged her on to reveal more.

"You see," Rachel said, "a monster called Yuuki-Terumi ruined Ragna's childhood, by killing his little sister and possessing his brother in order to do so. I found the poor boy and gave him his Ansem Grimoire, as I felt he might become useful in the future. And despite his lackadaisical nature, he has been somewhat useful in tacking down the corrupt government in our world."

"He is taking down a corrupt government?" Rachel asked.

"Indeed," Rachel replied. "It's been a slow-going process though. And to be honest, if you are worried about the Grim Reaper destroying himself, I have reason to believe that he has no intention on surviving this mission."

"What?" Mitsuru asked.

"The man got himself a massive bounty," Rachel replied, "and the position as an SS-Class Rebel. While killing him is a near scientific impossibility, with the way our world works, it's very well that something might come along to kill him at some point."

"And you're... okay with that?" Mitsuru asked.

"Should I?" Rachel replied.

Mitsuru had had enough and slammed her hands on the table. "He's your friend is he not!?" she demanded.

"Young lady!" Gii, the red... doll... thing, that accompanied Rachel everywhere snapped up. "You will show respect to our mistress!"

"That's right," Nago added, flopping over from underneath the table. "You shall not raise your voice any further towards her, lest you suffer punishment!"

"And you both will be quiet and not back-talk me," Mitsuru said threateningly, "before I freeze you two together!"

The familiars jumped up and ducked away as Rachel merely sighed. "You're allowing your emotions to control you, Miss Kirijo," Rachel said. "As the leader of your own organization, that's a very bad idea."

"No," Mitsuru replied. "But for being a friend and ally, I wouldn't have it be any other way. So maybe you're the one who needs to listen to emotions more."

"If you've experienced half the things I have," Rachel said, "you would be playing a different tune. And that reminds me, why do you care about Ragna so much? You don't really know him, do you?"

Mitsuru did consider that for a moment. She was being a bit too charitable all things considered for a man that she didn't really know. And maybe she was imposing her own memories of Shinjiro onto Ragna. But at the same time, if the whole world that Ragna did live in appeared to be against him, where even the people labeled as his friends like Rachel or Noel couldn't lift a finger to help him or even seem to be polite to him, maybe Mitsuru could afford to be kind.

"Maybe I don't know him," Mitsuru said, adjusting her coat as she proceeded to leave Rachel. "But that's why I want to get to know him more."

Rachel merely looked as Mitsuru left, and sipped on her tea. She had a feeling that Mitsuru had her work cut out for her. But maybe getting some real friends in there would help that idiot moving forward.

* * *

Ragna was merely walking through the streets of Inaba, taking in the uniquely calm area before returning to his world. Yu had told him before about how Inaba was a calm place, built on the countryside and filled with a quiet that Ragna certainly was not used to. Taking a visit to the different worlds every now and again had become something of a habit to Ragna as of recently, giving him a chance to merely relax without having the fear of the NOL or Sector 7 coming down on him.

Nowadays, he would just wander around the different cities that he's come to know such as Kanzakai, Vale, Shibuya, or whatever from the different worlds and do some exploring. Taking a look at the vast differences from the worlds when compared to his own. The world that bore the most similarities to Ragna's world was the world of Team RWBY, at least in terms of technology and aesthetic. But the government was far different, at least according to what Ragna had heard from Noel or Mai.

Ragna continued walking through Inaba, and just looked around. He had gotten a few odd looks from people, as he'd come to learn that his look wasn't a common appearance in Inaba, or most of the worlds, but he didn't really care. So long as nobody bothered him, he would be alright.

A buzzing in his jacket got his attention, as he looked at the "Scroll" that Ruby had given him to stay in touch. He oftentimes got messages from her or Yu asking if he was free, and he always replied with how he was "busy" and "couldn't make it," which was really his way of brushing them off. Those kids didn't really want to spend time with him, they just thought that.

But to his surprise, the caller ID was different. "Hello?" he answered, curious as to who had gotten his number."

"Hello Ragna-san," he heard the voice of Mitsuru say. "I was hoping you'd be kind enough to answer."

"Mitsuru?" Ragna asked. "The hell are you doing calling me, and how did you get my number?"

"To answer your second question," Mitsuru replied, "Narukami gave it to me. And to answer your first question, I was calling to ask you to dinner."

Ragna comically stared straight ahead, raising an eyebrow so high that it nearly flew straight off his forehead. Did... did Mitsuru really just ask him out on a date?

"And in case you're misconstruing what I say," Mitsuru said, "given your silence, let me assure you this is not for a date. Akihiko will be accompanying us. We just wanted a chance to talk to you and learn more about you personally."

"Well..." Ragna said slowly. "Look, that's nice and all. But I don't think I-"

"Don't bother declining," Mitsuru said firmly, using her 'big sister' voice. "Because this is not up for debate. You're coming with us. I don't know when the last time you merely took the opportunity to relax and just talk with others, so you're coming. And that's final!"

Ragna wanted to continue arguing. He didn't see any reason for this meeting, and he certainly didn't see any reason in talking about himself to Akihiko and Mitsuru. But if what he'd heard from the likes of Yu or Teddie was true, than he knew that it would only become a bigger headache for him to deny Mitsuru this opportunity, and eventually decided that... he'd just go with it.

"Where do you want to meet?"

To Be Continued...

* * *

_**Author's Note: Boy howdy doo did this one take awhile! I've had this on the back burner for about two weeks I want to say, but I finally got it out there! This is part 1 of a request from Mystech Master, who wanted to have Mitsuru and Akihiko learn more about and connect with Ragna, and I found that an idea worth looking into.**_

_**The biggest thing about this chapter was the idea of having Mitsuru and Akihiko recall Shinjiro and see many mannerisms of him through Ragna, which was the main suggestion from Mystech Master. With this in mind, they're able to think more and feel concern for Ragna, when they remember what had happened to their friend, and hope to not see the same thing happen to somebody else.**_

_**A few other inclusions I had was bringing back Scharlachrot and Wei****ß, whom I really enjoy and hope to do more with. I also included a few other Arcana Heart characters such as Lillica, Kamui, and Konoha, whom were accompanying an albeit short appearance from Heart.**_

_**But probably the highlight of this chapter for me, aside from learning more of Ragna, was the flashback with all the robot girls. Naturally, a lot of people have been suggesting all of the mechanical women of the different franchises meet up. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten to think of anything like that so far thanks to my lack of information on characters like Lambda or Mei-Fang, but hopefully this is enough to tide you over until I can come up with something more satisfying.**_

_**I don't really have much else to say about this one, it was just something a little more deep, but still with some humor shown, and will lead into the next one along. Until next time, thank you as always for reading, let me know what else you would like to see, and I'll see you all next time!**_


	18. Not So Alone (Pt 2)

Ragna didn't want to do this. He didn't _like _doing this. The only reason he was doing this in the first place was because Mitsuru made it painfully clear that she was not going to let him get out of it easily.

But... he did like cooking. Which was the _one _thing about this whole situation that he remotely liked. So frankly, he was taking this consolation prize.

He was still steaming over how Mitsuru and Akihiko had backed him into a corner and forced him to spend time with them. He didn't want anything to do with this, nor did he see any reason why he should bother with it. Nor did he even understand why they would even want anything to do with him.

But, what's done is done. He couldn't help it now. Mitsuru had directed him to a quiet place they would meet without being bothered by anybody, and he was now cooking a meal that the three of them could enjoy.

"Hey Ragna!" Ruby's voice yelled. The Grim Reaper groaned dramatically, scraping a hand across his face as the smaller reaper ran over!

Okay, so in reality the spot that Mitsuru and Akihiko had gotten was actually Ruby and Yang's old home on the small island off the coast of Vale known as Patch. Yang was not even on the island at the moment, seeing that she had been roped into babysitting Scharlachrot and Weiß with Yuzuriha. But the moment that Ragna had arrived, Ruby was right there to welcome him, as Mitsuru had naturally asked her in the first place if they could come over. And while Ruby's father, Taiyang had left to give them space, Ruby... well, not so much.

"Kid," Ragna said, "I thought I told you to scram?"

"Aw... come on Ragna!" Ruby said. "They're not here yet, right? So what's the harm in me sticking around for awhile?"

"The harm," Ragna replied, "is that you give me a massive migraine."

"Jeez!" Ruby said, looking hurt. "Rude much?"

"Look," Ragna said, "if I hadn't made it explicitly clear already, I'm not exactly keen on this meeting to begin with! So you butting in and bothering me while I'm cooking, is not exactly helping things!"

Ruby aimed a sad look at the ground as Ragna turned his back and returned to work. He didn't exactly have anything against Ruby. In fact, he kinda liked her. Well, about as much as Ragna liked anything.

But once again, he was just stressed out. He had no qualms diving headfirst into a dangerous situation for the sake of exacting his revenge. But having to deal with casual interactions was just not in his nature, and made him uncomfortable.

Ragna aimed a look behind him and saw Ruby still pouting dramatically. He gave another sigh. "Kid," he said, "how old did you say you were? Sixteen?"

"F-...fifteen," Ruby replied quietly.

"Yeah," he said. "Still way too old to be pouting like a little kid. Just get over it. I'm not mad at you, just frustrated. I seriously need to get this over with, and concentrate so at the very least we can also have a decent meal."

"I... I get it," Ruby said. "I just wish that you weren't so cranky!"

Ragna merely met her eyes, those startlingly silver eyes. He gave another sigh, making that about five in the past ten minutes. _She's lucky she reminds me of... _her_, _he thought quietly. _Not so lucky for my heart, but lucky for her at least._

"Hey Ruby!" a voice yelled. Both Ragna and Ruby looked up to see Zwei promptly dropped on Ruby's face by Lillica, who laughed happily as she lowered herself to the ground. "Heads up," she said mockingly.

"Where the hell did you come from?" Ragna asked.

"Just dropping off that dog," Lillica replied, relaxing her arms behind her head. She caught sight of the food that Ragna was preparing, and instantly began salivating! "Ooh, sweet! Gimme!"

She reached for the stove, as Ragna's hand instantly became condensed in dark energy, as a face akin to a rabid animal overcame his features! "Touch it and you die!" he yelled.

"Woah, yikes!" Lillica said in surprise.

"Okay, I've had it!" Ragna said. "Both of you, beat it! I'm gonna get this over with as quickly as possible so I'm having nobody else bother me, got it!?"

Just then, an unfamiliar girl casually walked past the stove, looking about the area curiously. She appeared as a fairly young woman, with a long braid of purple hair that stretched all the way past her waist, wearing a deep purple overshirt on top of a plain white button-up, with a yellow tie just peeking out of the collar, with a matching purple cap, and a deeper colored jacket and skirt. So, yeah, a lot of purple.

Ragna looked utterly baffled as he had no clue who this woman was. He looked to Ruby and Lillica, whom both shrugged in response. Clearly they didn't know her any more than he did.

"Uh..." Ragna said. "Who the flying hell are you?"

The girl perked up, and looked over at Ragna curiously. "Oh, don't mind me," she said. "I'm Eltnum. Or 'Eltnam' if you go off of my original appearance, full name being Sion Eltnam Altasia, and original crossover character before you hotshots stole the thunder originally established by yours truly."

She aimed a fierce glare at Lillica, who even the young demoness found herself crumpling under. "Looking at you kid," Eltnum said. "Seriously, Arcana Heart first and not Melty {REDACTED}?"

She seemed to perk up again, as she looked around curiously. "Really?" she said. "Even in here I can't say the full title? Ugh, gonna have to drive my foot up that guy's ass later. Anyway, I just happen to have shown up in the wrong chapter. I'll be making my way out eventually."

"Chapter?" Ruby asked. "What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about it," Eltnum replied, waving a hand. "I'm just here because the author got a mention of me and had no idea who I was, so he went out of his way to go and research me, which is more than I can say for some other characters, and found it would be funny if he integrated me in here. But hey, guess it got the ball rolling faster on this chapter than he was probably going to be."

The whole time while she was talking, Ragna, Ruby, and even Lillica just looked at her with totally awestruck looks. They had no idea what this girl was even talking about! What was she on?

"Anywho," Eltnum said, "I think it's about time that the next segue got going, so I'll just ease on outta here and make my way to the next chapter. See you guys then. And remember, support Melty {REDACTED} ...ugh - as the next game in BBTAG! Or FGO, whichever you prefer! But like hell Imma miss out on this opportunity bitches!"

She just walked in a seemingly random direction further into the woods, as the three others just stared at her go. Once she began moving out of sight, the three proceeded to give each other shocked expressions. "What the frock?" Lillica finally said after a moment of silence.

Ragna merely rubbed his head, muttering "yare yare daze," under his breath. _Still, _he thought, _just how many more lunatics could be showing up and bothering me while I try and waste my time with those two? ...I am totally going to screw myself over for thinking that, aren't I?_

* * *

"An... SS-Class Criminal?" Orie asked. "Is that even possible?"

"Apparently so," Weiss replied. "Which in his world, is the biggest deal possible."

As it turns out, Mitsuru and Akihiko weren't the only ones doing more research on Ragna the Bloodedge. When they heard from Yang that Mitsuru wasn't with the Kirijo Group that day for training, and was instead learning about Ragna, Weiss and Orie only found it natural that they follow in their "senpai's" footsteps and do the same. And what they found while looking around the Izumo Region's own Kukunochi, was shocking to say the least.

Weiss had always found Ragna to be... gruff, but not a terrorist like the information described here was implying! Not to mention the hideous photo to go with it. (Seriously, the thing looked like Ragna got fused with a stereotypical image of a pedophile!) But sure enough, Ragna had repeatedly attacked multiple bases run by this NOL organization!

"This is too much," Weiss said. "How could we have let a criminal like this under our noses this entire time!? We have to bring him in. Or else Mitsuru could be hurt!"

"Aren't we jumping to conclusions a bit?" Orie asked. "I mean, we may not spend a lot of time with Ragna, but he's never come off as dangerous or threatening any time we've seen him before, right? Plus, Noel, Makoto, Mai, just to name a few are agents of this world. Don't you think they would've tried to bring him down instead of being friends with him?"

Weiss did take a moment to ponder on that. "I suppose you might be right," she said. "I hadn't considered that. But even still, we have to at least look into this more. So we should get looking."

"Point taken," Orie replied. "I know I certainly wouldn't feel better not looking into this further. And, at least we know where Mitsuru plans on meeting him."

"Indeed," Weiss said. "So let's get a move on."

As they prepared to make the fairly large journey over to Patch from Kukunochi, Eltnum was found walking in the opposite direction. She perked up when she saw the both of them walking, and quickly aimed her gaze towards the ground. "Goddammit," she said, "I'm still here."

* * *

Mitsuru measured the pastry box she carried in her hands lovingly. She hoped that Ragna would be a fan of the food she brought for desert. It was a peace offering, so to speak, mixed with a token of gratitude for conceding to this meeting. Even Ragna was one to crumple to the brilliance of Heart Aino's treats, so Mitsuru was confident that Ragna would be somewhat cooled by the presence of these pastry goods.

She and Akihiko were just enjoying the nature of Patch that Ruby and Yang had commonly told the kids of the Investigation Team that they had to witness in person one day. There was not a Creature of Grimm in sight, and only the calming sounds of the natural animals could be heard save for the whistling of the trees in the light wind. Truly a picturesque and relaxing spot.

Which was what made Akihiko's obvious tenseness rather apparent to Mitsuru as they walked. His hands were shut firmly in his pockets, and a rather stern look adorned his features, as he stared straight ahead without saying a single word. "You know Sanada," Mitsuru replied, "if you're this nervous about meeting with Ragna, people may get the wrong idea."

"Huh?" Akihiko replied, looking at Mitsuru for the first time in what must've been a half hour.

Mitsuru released a rather attractive chuckle. "Relax Akihiko," she said. "I know that you're nervous, but you don't have to be panicked."

"How could I not be?" Akihiko replied. "From what we've both learned, this guy has gone through hell that we could never have dreamed of, even with the Dark Hour. Even on top of losing the people close to us. How am I... What can I say to him?"

Mitsuru had considered that. Ever since she ended her talk with Rachel, spoken on the phone with Ragna to set up this meeting, and everything else leading until now, Mitsuru had been considering what she might say to Ragna. She had gone to talk to Rachel, as Akihiko had gone to Jubei, to learn more about Ragna and have a better understanding of what they might say to him in light of his obvious similarities to Shinjiro, and the fear that he might be going through a similar, personal hell every day without telling anybody or seeking any form of help to live through it. But she had only gotten even more confused, rather than have a clearer understanding of anything.

It was moments like this that showed Mitsuru how vastly different her own world was compared to Ragna's. Hell, there were actually more similarities between her world to Remnant than Ragna's. And Remnant had magical minerals that could allow people defy the laws of physics, mana based abilities as a regularity instead of a uniqueness, and animal/human hybrid people called Faunus.

It wasn't like Mitsuru and the rest of her friends from when they were known as SEES were exactly exempt from their own torment. With everything they'd gone through in the Dark Hour, the monsters they'd fought, the psychological torture they'd endured, and the friends and allies they'd had to bury. It was all hard.

But Ragna beat them all out combined. Having his little brother possessed by a demon that mutilated Ragna himself, and murdered their little sister. Being resurrected by a vampire through being bonded with a monstrous limb, and then trained by Jubei to become a killing machine. And now living the rest of his life with the goal of decimating the corrupt government of his world. It was all psychotic.

Mitsuru could understand why not a whole lot was revealed about their world by not only Ragna, but others like Noel or Rachel. People just didn't like talking about it. Comparing the other worlds, with stuff like the Creatures of Grimm regularly murdering whole villages on a somewhat daily basis, the Hollow Night appearing under every full moon and unleashing its swarms of Voids, and even the Dark Hour, when it was still around, all sounded like paradise compared to what Ragna's world had to offer.

"We can't back out now," Mitsuru replied. "If there's anything we can do to... ease Ragna's burden, we should do it. That's what you were suggesting when you were going to confront him alone, no? So where did that bravado from earlier go?"

Akihiko turned away. He stopped in his tracks for a moment, causing Mitsuru to stop in turn and look behind herself to see what made him stop. It was then she spotted a bear walking through the trees. And not the type of Grimm that resembled bears that Ruby had dubbed as "Ursai," but an actual brown bear.

The creature stopped to look at the both of them, but did not seem hostile. Just curious, if a little bit spooked too. Akihiko merely stared at the creature, and the bear stared back. Finally, the creature must've decided they weren't a threat and began to continue on its path peacefully.

"You know," Akihiko said, "with all the crazy shit that we've seen, I sometimes forget what's supposed to be... normal, anymore."

"Normal is relative," Mitsuru replied. "So are we going?"

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Akihiko replied, waving a hand as he began walking again.

"C'est magnifique," Mitsuru said proudly, coining her catchphrase. The two continued walking peacefully, not that much farther away from where Ruby said her house was located. After a moment, Mitsuru decided to at least come up with some form of casual conversation.

"You know," she said, "I was almost worried you were going to attempt a Mike Haggar and jump that bear."

"You wish!" Akihiko laughed, before following up with, "although that would be incredibly manly."

"And you would be incredibly dead," Mitsuru laughed.

"Can't prove that until I try," Akihiko said.

* * *

Before too much longer, they arrived at the Xiao Long-Rose home, where Ruby could be seen waiting outside on the front step, waving happily to them as they approached! She hopped up and greeted Mitsuru and Akihiko with hugs as they drew near. "Welcome, welcome you two!" she said.

"Good to see you Ruby," Akihiko said. "Didn't expect to see you here."

"Well," Ruby replied, "I'm actually going to leave about now. I promised Ragna I'd leave when you two showed up so you could spend some time to yourselves. He's out back right now finishing up everything."

"Thank you Ruby," Mitsuru said, patting Ruby on the head as she made her way around back with Akihiko behind her. The two finished making their way around the house, ready to greet Ragna with a sense of enthusiasm. And that's when they got a sight that left them both speechless.

Ragna was bent over the grill, eyes laser-focused on his work, only flicking up for a half second to see the others approaching. The way in which he was preparing the food gave off an intensity that was not the least bit expected by anybody, not just Mitsuru or Akihiko. He even had an apron around his chest and everything!

"Hey," Ragna said quickly. "I'll be done in just a minute. You can sit."

Akihiko and Mitsuru shared awestruck expressions with one another. The similarities between Shinjiro had not been entirely supported or had a substantial foundation at first, just based from their somewhat similar atmospheres or attitudes. It was only strengthened from learning about his past, confirming their suspicions that he had something serious that drove him to what they feared to be harmful results. But now, witnessing Ragna cooking... all bets were off.

Despite his similarly gruff and intimidating appearance, Shinjiro was actually a fan of cooking, and would often create good meals for the SEES members. Seeing Ragna acting no differently than Shinjiro had, in any regard, was a massive blast to the past for both of them.

It was as if, they were no longer on Patch, or even Remnant. They were back in the Iwatodai Dormitory, in their world. And they were back to being high school students, waiting for a meal from Shinjiro.

Mitsuru heard a shaky breath next to her. Her heart leapt into her throat as she looked to her left, plopping the box in her hands on a nearby table as she promptly went to Akihiko's side. The man wasn't visibly saddened, but he did seem shaken.

"Sanada," Mitsuru said quietly, putting a calming hand on his shoulder, "are you going to be alright?"

"Y-yeah," Akihiko replied. "Just... just give me a minute."

He took a seat at the outdoor table, as Ragna made the finishing touches on the pork diner that he had been making. "There we go," he said, an honest hint of pride in his tone. He tossed his apron aside and brought the plate over to the table.

"Thanks for waiting," he said.

"It's no trouble," Mitsuru replied, taking a seat at the table. She held out the pastry box, and tapped the lid. "We brought this with us too. As a token of thanks for agreeing to this meeting. And you won't have to worry, it's from Aino's shop."

Ragna blinked a few times, before taking the box and setting aside close to himself. "Thanks," he said.

Mitsuru and even Akihiko smiled happily. A reaction like that was honestly what they were expecting. _One step at a time, _Mitsuru thought.

"So," Ragna said, dueling out plates to each of them, "what exactly did you want to talk about? Like, why bring me here in the first place?"

"Well," Mitsuru replied, "we were hoping we could talk to you about life."

"Huh?" Ragna asked, looking totally taken aback.

"We asked some of your friends," Akihiko replied, "about you, and we were hoping that we could gauge... uh... how you... think?"

"How I think?" Ragna asked. He didn't notice that to his opposite side, Mitsuru shot Akihiko a reproachful look. Akihiko merely crumpled in defeat, taking a bite of his food to distract himself.

To be fair, even Mitsuru had a hard time thinking of how she could phrase this meeting without making it sound like an intervention. They didn't outright believe that Ragna was doing things that harmed himself. But they did at least want to know that he wasn't aiming towards that in the future, and that he could confide in them and trust them as friends and allies.

"What Sanada means," Mitsuru replied, "is we are curious about where you plan to go in the future. What your aspirations are and how your life at the moment looks like."

She was choosing her words carefully. Anything that made it seem like the both of them were questioning Ragna's mental state would probably lead to the Reaper in question getting defensive and shutting down. She just had to treat this as if she were talking to Shinjiro. At least, Shinjiro in hindsight, now that she was aware of what he'd been dealing with.

"Uh..." Ragna replied, honestly confused. He never really had people that were interested in him before. Or at least, interested in who he was as a person and not a target, annoyance, or anything of the sort in that regard.

"Well, I'm looking to take down the government in my world. Trying to disempower the bastards guiding the world nowadays."

"We heard that before," Mitsuru replied. "You are trying to bring about change. And from my point of view, I feel that is a very admirable thing to do."

Ragna aimed a brow at her. He then let loose a massive guffaw! "Are you for real?" he asked. "Look, I don't know what's been put inside your head, but I'm not doing this because I'm some kinda hero, so you can forget that shit! This is just me getting back at the sunuvabitch that possessed my brother, killed my sister, and basically fucked my life over forever! Oh yeah, and to shove my sword right in the ass of the bastards that are using my sister's body to make their killing machines. So there's that too."

Mitsuru and Akihiko shared a glance. They hadn't expected that response. It seemed that Rachel and Jubei had given the both of them the idealized version of the truth.

"So," Ragna said, "like I said, don't think I'm some kinda hero."

Mitsuru blinked a few times as she aimed her gaze at the ground.

"We get it," Akihiko said. "But whether you like or not, this little quest for vengeance you've got is gonna do something good eventually."

"Is that right?" Ragna asked.

"It is," Akihiko replied. "You're taking out people that have no doubt hurt a lot of other people. You just happened to be the only one brave enough or smart enough to actually do anything about it. So even if this was just personal for you, you're still doing something that will truly have great affects."

Ragna raised a brow. "Sure man," he said. "Whatever helps you fuckin' sleep at night."

"Do you have _any _friends?" Akihiko asked bluntly.

"Why would I have friends?" Ragna replied. "In case you haven't noticed yet, I'm kind of the number one most wanted man in the world. And I don't mean 'wanted' as girls that want to bang me, I mean 'wanted' as in people want to kill me."

"We understand," Mitsuru replied. "We were informed of this to a degree. However, people like Noel seem to trust you and view you as a friend."

"Well," Ragna replied, "I don't really accept the whole 'friendship' thing. People will just get hurt around me. There are a lot of people that want me dead, and will have no trouble killing them if they try to help me. Even people that they work with. So, I have no intentions on taking friends and creating a merry party to go about on a suicide mission."

"That's a pretty narrow-minded way of thinking," Akihiko replied.

"You have a problem?" Ragna replied.

"I'm just saying," Akihiko replied, "if there are people that want to be a positive influence on you, why not just take it?"

"I think I kinda made that point pretty damn obvious," Ragna replied. "Or were you just not paying attention?"

"As blunt as it is to say," Akihiko replied, "I think it's their risk to take. If they want to bother befriending you and seeing you as a part of their family, then it's their choice to make and worth risking their lives over."

Mitsuru smiled. Ragna was thrown for a moment, and Mitsuru was proud of Akihiko's style of confronting the situation. Leave it to Sanada to make an example on the power that friends can make.

"What if I don't _want _them to make that choice," Ragna replied. "Have you ever considered that genius idea? Like, what if it isn't any of their damn business?"

"We understand what you mean Ragna," Mitsuru replied. "We knew somebody just like you before, believe it or not."

Ragna raised an eyebrow at Mitsuru, whilst Akihiko shot her a gobsmacked expression. Seeing the way this conversation was heading, Mitsuru decided that it might just be better to nip this problem in the bud and cut to the chase.

"We had a friend," Mitsuru replied, "named Shinjiro. And it's become increasingly clear to us that you strongly resemble him. That's the main reason that we felt having this conversation was worthwhile."

"Sorry to say," Ragna replied, "but it's a pretty dumbshit idea that your friend was anything like me."

"You both have the same damn annoying attitude for one thing," Akihiko replied. "You even seem to have the same like for cooking that he did. Not to mention that you both have this serious 'woe is me' bullshit past that makes you feel like interacting with anybody will give them the damn plague!"

Akihiko was getting increasingly aggravated with each word he said, his voice raising in volume with each word!

"Sanada!" Mitsuru said firmly. "There is no need for that!"

Akihiko sat back firmly in his seat, growling under his breath as he tried desperately to regain his composure.

"Sanada and Shinjiro were close," Mitsuru said to Ragna. "They were best friends, and Shinjiro sadly passed away. He felt very much the same way that you do about interacting with other people, isolating himself because he found he was dangerous to everyone around him because his Persona, Castor, was hard to control, and actually went berserk and killed somebody. He had even begun taking drugs that would suppress his Persona, but they were slowly killing him. We had no idea, and probably would not have until the day they finally killed him, before other events occurred."

Ragna's face was slowly growing more and more sympathetic as Mitsuru continued describing Shinjiro, as Akihiko continued calming himself and gained a greatly saddened look on his face.

"We know you have a mission," Mitsuru replied, "and we would never dream of trying to stopping it. However, we hope that you would accept our offer of becoming companions. So that way, you know that you have people that are willing to allow you to fall back onto them when you need help. And won't do anything... detrimental to your health."

Ragna looked away. He ground his teeth in frustration. "Why?" he said.

"Huh?" Akihiko replied.

"Why the hell are you being so... nice to me?" he said. Mitsuru and Akihiko remained quiet. "I don't get it!" he said in frustration. "What the hell is the deal? You guys don't fucking know me! What makes you think that I deserve you being friendly with me?"

Akihiko smirked. He felt like he'd made this argument before. "Sometimes," he said, "you don't need a reason to be kind. Actually, you should never nee a reason to be kind to somebody else, especially somebody you know needs some kindness."

"If you truly feel you don't deserve it," Mitsuru said, "or earnt it, we'll leave. But just know Ragna, we _want _to be true friends. No ulterior motives. We genuinely want to give you what we already feel like you deserve."

Ragna stared at Mitsuru in the eye, as the Queen of Executions showed a beautiful smile. He didn't know what to say, or what he could in this situation, as he had never met anyone quite like them.

"Well," Akihiko said, "while you're deliberating, how bout' we do something fun?" He pulled out three shot glasses and a bottle, a wolfish grin on the Protein Junkie's face.

* * *

Ruby was eagerly awaiting the next ship to leave Patch, looking forward to heading back to Beacon so she could hang out with her own friends. She hoped that Mitsuru and Akihiko's mission to help Ragna would turn out well, and the Grim Reaper could finally have some friends. But as she got on board, she did a double take as she saw Weiss and Orie going the other way. She was gripped by curiosity, and zipped over behind the heiress and executor, jumping up to get their attention from behind!

"Weiss! Orie! What're you doing?" she asked.

"Ruby," Weiss said, "before we continue having a back and forth, allow me to cut you off here and say you shouldn't get involved. This doesn't concern you."

"Doesn't con-this is the island I live on!" Ruby replied.

"She has a point Weiss," Orie said.

"Come on Orie," Weiss replied, "you know how she feels about him."

"That's... true," Orie relented.

"Okay, enough!" Ruby said, zipping in front of the two using her Semblance, arms outstretched to stop them. "If you don't tell me what this is about, I won't let you pass!"

Weiss merely sighed. "Fine," she said, knowing that Ruby would not give up. "We discovered on his world, Ragna is what's labeled as an 'SS-Class Criminal.' We don't know to what extent this is true, so we just want to investigate. If it truly turns out, Ragna is no better than Roman, we need to put a stop to it."

"Say what?" Ruby said in surprised. "Weiss, Orie, you two seriously cannot believe he's some bad guy! He's our friend, he's cool!"

"Which is why we didn't tell you," Orie replied. "We know you have some minor idolizing of Ragna. Maybe it's because of his weapon and skill that are akin to yours, or maybe because he reminds you of your uncle, but either way, you wouldn't keep an open mind."

"But you don't know he's a bad guy!" Ruby said. "You only know him from what we've seen, and even with that are only assuming he's bad because of his record!"

"Which is why we are investigating," Weiss said. "If he really hasn't done anything wrong, we'll leave him be. But if he has, we can't just enable him with inaction any further."

"Fine!" Ruby snapped. "You want to do this, then fine! He's at my house. I'll go with you! But I swear, you're wrong!"

"If you say so," Weiss said. "We'll see how much of a thug he is."

"He's no thug!" Ruby said.

* * *

Mitsuru could not believe the severity of the obscenities coming out of Ragna's mouth. Within the past ten minutes Ragna and Akihiko had successfully chugged through practically the entire bottle that the Two-Fisted Protein Junkie had brought with him, and were now red-faced. Mitsuru wasn't even sure how they could've gotten totally plastered in just the past few minutes alone, but upon merely tasting one sip, which was the extent of her drinking, she discovered that Sanada had naturally added some protein concoction to the drink, which must've somehow amplified the alcohol content... how exactly was beyond the young Miss Kirijo but that's the only thing she could come up with.

"Bruh," Sanada said, slumping over the table, "yer fuckin' life is - *hic!* - totly... fucked!"

"Old news dude," Ragna replied, somehow managing to sit upright and sound the least bit coherent. If they had been competing, Mitsuru would say that the Grim Reaper had won the drinking contest.

"Okay," Mitsuru said, checking her watch, "I think you two have had enough. Time for you to get some rest. Sanada has to report to work in the morning, and I'm sure you have plans of your own Ragna-san."

"Say what!?" Ragna asked angrily, aiming a slurring, red-faced sneer towards Mitsuru. "Yer kiddin' me, right? I could keep going all night if I wanted to! If fuckin' Azrael or some shit came here, I'd knock em' out no problem!"

"That's not the point Ragna-san," Mitsuru said. "You're drunk. You need to sleep."

"Your mother's drunk," Ragna replied brilliantly.

Mitsuru's eye twitched for a moment, and even the half-asleep already Akihiko noticed that Ragna was far overstepping, no matter how much sympathy they'd felt for the Bloodedge earlier! "Uh... Rag," Akihiko said, "dun't do eet!"

"What're you talkin' bout?" Ragna replied. "You think I'm afraid of some bitch!?"

That did it. Next thing that happened, Ragna was rolling across the ground thanks to a powerful ice blast from Mitsuru! He was left a groaning mess on the ground, his own inebriation already messing with him and making his situation even worse! Akihiko could only make a noise akin to a laugh mixed with a hiccup. "I told ye," he said.

Ragna stumbled back to his feet, as Mitsuru stood across from him. "Had enough?" she asked.

"Not on your life, bitch!" Ragna yelled. He delivered a series of blows condensed in dark energy! Mitsuru was easily able to sidestep around all of them thanks to the fact that in his current state, Ragna was so drunk he was nearly throwing himself from his own feet with every blow!

Mitsuru was able to get close and slam him right in the nose, knocking him from his feet! She grabbed him by the collar of his jacket promptly afterward to keep him from falling all the way to the ground, and delivered a stink eye.

"Had enough?" she asked. Ragna merely continued to curse, but it was clear that Mitsuru was not having it.

"Aha!" Mitsuru heard. She turned to see her kouhais standing several feet away, Weiss pointing triumphantly, with Ruby looking on in mild concern. "I told you! Mitsuru was naturally catching this rapscallion!"

"What are you three doing here?" Mitsuru asked. "I thought we were going to keep this place to ourselves for the evening?"

"Mitsuru," Orie said, "what's going on?"

"Ragna and Akihiko merely got drunk," Mitsuru replied. "I was merely trying to help them get some rest... by force."

"Oh," Weiss said, seeming to loose her bravado with Ruby giving a cocky grin. "Ahem!" Weiss added. "Mitsuru, we have something we need to tell you about Ragna! We discovered recently that he's an 'SS-Class Criminal,' back on his homeworld!"

"We know," Mitsuru said.

That gave everyone cause for pause. "Wait, you do?" Weiss asked.

"Of course," Mitsuru replied. "And I understand your concern. But I have everything under control."

She felt Ragna grab her wrist, and saw Ragna trying to steady himself back on his feet. "Still trying are you?" Mitsuru asked.

"Not worried bout' you anymore," Ragna said. He stumbled over to the girls, and pointed accusingly at them. "Listen," he growled, "I've been through a lot of shit today that I didn't want to deal with! So for your own sake I'm tellin' ya to keep your noses outta my shit! You got a problem with me bein' a - *hic!* - criminal, then come at me! I'll take you all on! But you ain't gonna hear bout' why I'm so... fucked... up!"

He finally gave up the ghost and faceplanted on the ground in front of the naturally very frightened and confused girls! They had no idea what to do in this situation, so Mitsuru merely walked over and picked him up. She heaved both Ragna and Akihiko over her shoulders, demonstrating impressive strength, as she carried them both inside the Rose-Xiao Long household. She deposited Akihiko on the sofa, before turning towards the staircase. Akihiko was still giggling hysterically, as Weiss, Orie, and Ruby merely stared at him with mild concern.

"Uh... you know," Ruby said, "I probably shouldn't have let them get drunk around my house. My dad is probably not going to like that."

"Doesn't stop your uncle's regular drinking," Weiss replied.

"Fair point," Ruby replied.

"Aren't you going to take offense to that?" Orie asked.

"Not really," Ruby replied. "It's true."

As she left Akihiko on the sofa under the teenager's watch, Mitsuru carried Ragna up to Ruby and Yang's old bedroom and laid him gently on the bed. She continued by removing Ragna's jacket, shoes, and gloves, before helping him under the covers, and ensured he was comfortable.

He managed to open his eyes, before turning away from Mitsuru. His face was still red, but Mitsuru had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't just from his inebriation. "You don't have to do this," he said. "I'm not your kid."

Mitsuru laughed as Ragna stubbornly turned away from her, in an attempt to hide his face. "Then why are you behaving like one?" she asked.

"Go to hell," Ragna said.

Mitsuru merely rolled her eyes again, as she patted his head. "Listen," she said, "this is just the kind of thing friends do. We take care of each other. And people call me the 'big sister' of my group for a reason. So just deal with it, cause' it isn't going to stop anytime soon."

Ragna didn't reply, possibly having fallen asleep already. Mitsuru merely sat still for another moment, rubbing his head. She looked up, and her face promptly turned beat red of her own accord as she found Ruby, Weiss, and Orie all staring at her with mild blush on their faces as well!

"Uh..." they all said.

"Don't think anything of this!" Mitsuru said, lifting a finger towards them! "I'm merely just taking care of a friend!"

"That seems a lot more... intimate," Orie said, "than just a friend."

Mitsuru grew a vein on her forehead as she seemed to be growing in rage! "I think you shouldn't have said that," Ruby said. Weiss and Orie merely gulped in fear, as they felt the infamous wrath of their senpai about to be unleashed!

With massive bumps on their heads, Mitsuru carried Weiss and Orie out of the house by their collars as she continued fuming in rage! "Now I hope you both learned your lesson," she said, "about not getting involved with the affairs of your senpai. Also, I hope you will no longer jump to conclusions about a person based on their labels, which I'm sure you should have understood already, yes Weiss?"

"Y-yes!" both the younger girls said sadly.

"But Mitsuru!" Weiss said. "You can't blame us!"

"I can," Mitsuru said, "and I did."

Ruby was merely standing in the doorframe of the home, thankful that Mitsuru hadn't felt enough of a reason to punish her as she did her kouhais. "Get them somewhere safe!" she waved. "I'll get you something else to eat for when you get back!"

"Thank you Ruby," Mitsuru said. "That's very kind of you."

"Don't get cocky Ruby!" Weiss yelled. "This is a one time thin - ow!"

Ruby merely giggled, as she turned back to the house, thankful that Ragna now had as good a friend as Mitsuru Kirijo to take care of him.

* * *

Ragna woke up with a hangover that made him feel like a puppy that had gotten flattened by a bulldozer. He wasn't exactly unused to pain, but the unholy level of pain that he was experiencing from that hangover was enough to make him want to slam his head into the nearest wall to put himself back into unconsciousness!

He rolled unceremoniously out of the bed, and slammed his face against the ground. That definitely didn't help his headache, as he pushed himself up to his feet, stumbling for a few moments. His coat, gloves, and shoes were all gone and he found them all near the door. He shook his head, unsuccessfully trying to clear it, and did a double take for a moment as he saw Ruby curled up happily with Orie in the bed next to the one he was laying in a moment ago.

Ragna decided to just go for the old "Yu Narukami" and leave them be, as he made his way downstairs, moving slowly and methodically as he went to ensure he just didn't trip and fall down to the ground floor. Ragna saw Akihiko still sound asleep on the couch, and in the kitchen, he found Mitsuru and Weiss sitting at the small table. The Queen smiled to him as he entered, gesturing over to the counter where a pot of coffee was still steaming.

"Good morning Ragna," she greeted. "We have some coffee if you'd care to have any."

"Thanks," Ragna replied, numbly going through the motions to get himself a cup.

"So how are you feeling?" Mitsuru asked.

"Like shit," Ragna replied.

"I had a feeling," Weiss replied.

"Didn't ask you Ice Queen," Ragna said.

Weiss rolled her eyes, stomping her way out of the kitchen. Mitsuru knew that Weiss wasn't going to have any prolonged stay with Ragna. She deemed him a 'brute.'

Ragna was massaging his brow, sipping on his coffee, Mitsuru analyzing him curiously. Her eyes sent back to her tablet she'd been working on recently, and took a breath. She'd been looking into the idea of this "Seithr," since the early hours of the morning.

Seithr was a strange energy that permeated Ragna's world, having existed ever since this hellish creature called the Black Beast had ravaged the land in the past. It's a power similar, yet different to the same power that Mitsuru and the others use in their respective worlds, whether it be called EXS, Aura, or some form or another. But Seithr is something far darker, given that it was created from an abomination she could never imagine facing.

But upon her research, she heard that Ragna used a vessel that accessed such power, The Azure Grimoire. The Azure took the form of his right arm, which she had heard from talking with Rachel earlier that morning, he had lost once Yuuki-Terumi possessed his brother. Rachel had actually given him the Azure, and had said something else that troubled Mitsuru greatly.

* * *

_"So this Azure," Mitsuru said, "is killing Ragna?"_

_"In a manner of speaking, yes," Rachel replied. "Prolonged use of the Azure will drain Ragna's lifeforce. Who knows how much he's already damaged his own soul."_

_"Is there any way of stopping it?" Mitsuru asked._

_"Perhaps," Rachel replied. "Although, that might just involve me taking back the Grimoire, it is mine after all. I merely gave it to him as a loan. Although taking it back could be a very messy process."_

_Mitsuru scowled. "Don't trouble yourself," she said. "I can take care of it myself."_

_"But you understand that is only a temporary solution," Rachel added._

_"What do you mean?" Mitsuru asked._

_"This is his soul we're discussing," Rachel replied. "And that is not exactly something so easily repaired. The Seithr which fuels the Grimoire has done irreperable damage to himself. Think of it like a cancer..."_

* * *

"Are you gonna speak or are you intending to continue staring at me?" Ragna asked. "Because, to tell you the truth, it's really damn creepy."

Mitsuru felt her face turn bright red! She hadn't realized that in her musings she had been staring at Ragna the whole time! "I-I-Ahem!" she stuttered. "Forgive me Ragna, I just got lost in thought."

Ragna shrugged, as he continued to drink his coffee. Mitsuru took a deep breath. The similarities between Ragna and Shinjiro just didn't stop, and it hurt. It hurt every single time another one cropped up!

She looked at Akihiko in the living room, still fast asleep on the sofa. She knew she could not tell him this part. It was too similar to how Shinjiro was using the suppressors to keep Castor calmed down, and how they were killing him! If Akihiko learned about this... there was no telling the damage it might do to his psyche, especially with how Ragna was still resistant to the idea of letting them in.

"Listen Ragna," she said, "there's something I want to give you."

Ragna raised a brow. "What's that?" he asked.

Mitsuru stood and pulled out an Evoker, which she handed to Ragna. The Reaper looked at the gun curiously, twirling it around in his hand. "Thanks," he said, "but I don't really use guns. I prefer Blood Scythe."

"It isn't a traditional gun," Mitsuru replied. "We call them Evokers. Everyone in the Shadow Operatives use to summon their Personas by willingly shooting ourselves in the head, by being able to understand our own mortality and embrace the concept of death."

Ragna made a face that gave off the impression he was visibly impressed. "Pretty hardcore," he said. "Wouldn't think that any of you would do something like that. But why give this to me, I don't use a Persona."

"I know," Mitsuru said. "But considering how fundamentally similar many of our abilities are, we figured you may find another use for it. And who knows, perhaps you could learn to summon a Persona of your own one day."

Ragna continued staring at her. "But why give one to me?"

"Think of it as a weapon of your own," Mitsuru replied. "I hear you got your... Grimoire from Rachel, and Jubei-san gave you your sword. This is a weapon that belongs strictly to you, and you alone. To use as you see fit."

"And... if you want, once you have finished your mission, you can have a position with the Shadow Operatives..."

Ragna looked at her with an expression of total surprise. He nearly even dropped the Evoker in his hand. "What?" he asked.

Mitsuru nodded again. "And... I can have some of my best in the Kirijo Group," she said, "look at your Grimoire. To find a way to stop its corruption."

"Wait, you know?" Ragna asked, before giving a scowl. "Rabbit," he muttered.

"You shouldn't have to face that alone Ragna," Mitsuru said. "If that thing is killing you, let us find a way to stop it! The fundamentals of the soul are child's play to some of the scientists I have working in the Kirijo Group. We can figure out a way-!"

"That's enough dammit!" Ragna snapped. "Even if your people are leagues smarter than anybody from my world, they won't find shit! Not even anybody in my world fully understands Seithr! Trust me, I never intended on surviving this thing, but I'm stuck with it!"

"Funny," Akihiko's voice said. "That's basically what Shinjiro said before." Ragna and Mitsuru turned to see Akihiko walking over from the couch in the living room, before brushing past Mitsuru and standing directly in front of Ragna, looking him dead in the eye.

"When were you gonna tell me, Mitsuru?" Akihiko asked.

Mitsuru cringed. "Listen Sanada, I-" she said slowly. "I was thinking about you. I knew you would-"

"Can it!" Akihiko said. "You knew I deserved to know about this!"

"I don't get what your malfunction is," Ragna said. "Either of you!" He pushed past the both of them and headed for the front door.

"Wait! Ragna!" Mitsuru said. "Where are you going!?"

"I'm leaving!" Ragna replied. "This has been an entire waste of my damn time!"

"No! We're not done here!" Akihiko said, running over and standing between him and the door!

"Why!?" Ragna said. "What is there to talk about anymore?"

"You're dying, that's what!" Akihiko replied. "And you're just going to accept that and refuse our help!?"

"What does it matter to you!?" Ragna replied. "You've only known me for, like, a day! We're not partners, and we're certainly not friends! So if it doesn't matter to me, then why the hell should it matter to either of you!?"

"JUST LET US HELP SHINJI!" Akihiko screamed, punching the wall so hard that it created massive cracks! Ragna and Mitsuru were dead silent as they stared at Akihiko in shock, and even Aki himself seemed surprised by what he'd just said. The tears had begun to fall down his face, and he buried his face in the palms of his hands.

"...I get it," Ragna replied, stern yet calm. "I remind you too much of your friend. But didn't I tell you already that I'm not him? I'm my own person, the one and only. So quit looking at me like I'm him already."

"That's not it you... guh, you bastard," Akihiko said, looking at Ragna once more. "Of course I know you're your own person. But that's exactly why... why I want to help you. Why I want to get to know you. And why I just... just want to make sure I do the right thing."

Akihiko aimed his gaze back towards Mitsuru, who was remaining dead silent as he let it all out. "We both do," he added.

Ragna could only let loose a scoff, shaking his head with a smile on his face. "I said it before and I'll say it again," he said, "I really don't fuckin' get you people. There is no way that you can fix me."

"I think we'll be the judge of that," Akihiko said. The two remained silent, merely sizing each other up. "So," Akihiko said, holding out a hand, "friends?"

Ragna raised a brow at the gesture, before turning back towards Mitsuru. "Let's leave it at," Ragna replied, "people that don't annoy the ever-loving fuck out of me. It's a small list, so you should count yourselves as lucky."

Akihiko laughed. "I think we'll take it," he said.

Ragna shrugged again, as he turned back and went into the kitchen. "Now maybe I can enjoy that cup of coffee in peace and quiet," he said.

"That can be arranged," Mitsuru said. Akihiko walked past her, but looked back to see that Mitsuru was wiping tears from her own eyes.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Mitsuru replied. "Just... I think you really needed that, right?"

"Yeah," Akihiko replied with a sigh. "I... I really didn't want to admit it to myself about how much he reminded me of Shinjiro, and how much I just kept comparing the two of them. And how much I want to _not _screw over everything this time."

"But you kept it bottled up for too long," Mitsuru said.

"Maybe I did," Akihiko replied. He looked back towards the kitchen, where Ragna had just finished refilling his cup of coffee. "He's a piece of work," Akihiko said. "In his own ways too."

"Indeed he is," Mitsuru replied.

"So you two gonna get your asses in here?" Ragna asked. "Or are you just gonna stand there and keep talking crap about me?"

"At this point," Akihiko replied, "I'm also starting to think he doesn't think very highly of himself."

"What was your first hint?" Mitsuru asked. "The fact he doesn't seem to think highly of almost anybody else?"

The both of them walked back into the kitchen, and from the stairway, Ruby, Weiss, and Orie continued watching the scene unfold, keeping as silent as they could. However, Ruby and Orie couldn't help but continue to sniffle and wipe tears from their eyes. All the while, Weiss had a thoughtful look on her face, as she wondered just how much she may have misjudged Ragna.

She took a breath. "This is too much," she said. "I seriously have to start taking some time to myself to just... reflect on everything."

"Reflect on what?" Eltnum asked.

"Oh just the people in my life and how I - wagh!?" Weiss said in surprise. She jumped to her feet to see the purple clad girl standing at the top of the stairs!

"W-wait!" Ruby said, wiping the last of her tears away from her face. "Where did you come from? How did you even get in here!?"

"I can't seem to find my way out," Eltnum replied. "So I'm just kind of bouncing around everywhere, breaking the tension whenever I can. This is supposed to be a comedy story, and the author felt that the past few chapters were far too emotional. So on behalf of the author, we do hope that you enjoyed, and greatly thank you for reading. And now as to further break up the tension, here is Yu Narukami."

She emphasized her point by pulling Yu out from... somewhere. The other girls jumped in surprise!

"N-Narukami-kun!?" Orie asked.

"Hi guys," Yu waved casually. "How did I get here?"

"That would be me," Eltnum replied. "Now then, on to my neverending search to find the perfect ship-pairings for Weiss and Yang! The world must know dammit! The world must know who can stand with Black Sun and whatever the ship name for Hyde and Ruby is!"

"W-wha?" Ruby asked. "What kind of ship? You mean like an airship?"

"Ah, yes," Eltnum added. "Before I pursue the calling of practically 90% of the fanbases of these franchises, I must also do this!"

She proceeded to grab Ruby's cheeks and began pinching them! The Rose Red squealed in surprise, waving her arms about as she begged Eltnum to stop!

"Thank you for this Ruby," Eltnum said. "You really are too precious. Even if the fanbase makes you mentally as young as a six year old, your own unexagerrated cuteness is astronomical. Now then, onward we go!"

And she's gone. Just like that. Weiss looked around, her eyes twitching. "What the frock?!" she said, echoing Lillica's sentiments from earlier.

"You know she's right," Yu said, as he began pinching Ruby's cheeks now.

"Leave me alone!" Ruby begged. "Weren't we just having an emotional moment!?"

* * *

_**Author's Note: DEAR GOD IT IS FINALLY DONE!**_

_**So, first off I would like to apologize for not uploading this sooner. I think for about two weeks now I've had it basically over and done with, and just did not have the time to put it out due to thing's in my personal life always getting in the way! But now that I've reworked my schedule to hopefully give me more time to writing something like this, hopefully I can rectify that problem so it does not happen again.**_

_**Anyway, this chapter was probably one of the ones that I enjoyed writing the most. Dealing with Mitsuru and Akihiko's attempts at trying to get to Ragna on an emotional level with him constantly stonewalling them was certainly a very interesting idea, and I hope at least that I was able to handle it well.**_

_**One thing I certainly have to point out is a big old thank you to Mystech Master themselves, who suggested the initial concept already, for recently commenting with some suggestions for me to use. They helped clarify a bit more about Ragna's mission, in terms of him not being some misunderstood hero, and also effectively created the entire final act of the chapter with the whole deal with Ragna's Grimoire killing him. Initially I was thinking of just leaving it at where Ragna and Akihiko had passed out drunk, so thank you to Mystech Master for commenting, and thanks to my own incompetence for not uploading the chapter sooner.**_

Eltnum: Which seems to be a recurring thing with you, isn't it?

_**Gah! What the what!? Where did you even-!? How did you-!?**_

Eltnum: I'm this franchise's Deadpool now, scrub. I can do a lot more than you might think.

_**I'm instantly beginning to include you in this chapter.**_

Eltnum: As much as you regret making multiple shipping chapters of MakotoxYosuke and HydexRuby almost in a row?

_**Only if it's legitimately influenced you to begin ship hunting these poor souls.**_

Eltnum: Of course! As I said, 90% of all these franchises if pure shipping fuel! And you said yourself you want your girls to all have their "happily ever afters" so you should be thanking me.

_**Look, we already have Heart as the ship-lord of this story, so let's leave her be. Which reminds me, I think she was off running somewhere at the moment. I really gotta keep that girl on a shorter leash. Uh, anyway! Thank you as always for reading, and let me know what other suggestions you want to see!**_

Eltnum: Buhbye!


	19. Technical Difficulties

With the force of a thousand raging bulls, Eltnum broke down the door to the Author's office, and took a few steps inside. Her eyebrows were raised as she looked around the room. "Jeez," she said. "This place is even dorkier than I remember from last time I was here."

She finally turns to address the audience, and clears her throat. "Ahem! So, considering the fact that the Author is currently indisposed, I figured that it might be best that I come in to speak with you all about the recent... delays. However, first I would like to comment on something about the last chapter, and my debut. I hope that it did not disturb some of you all; it was a spur of the moment thing that got me in there to begin with. I was actually supposed to appear sometime later, but I ended up getting lost and shoved into a seperate chapter by complete accident. Let me tell you, navigating between dimensions by the skin of your teeth is not as easy as it sounds. But that's besides the point."

"Now, I understand that some of you may have been confused and found my presence to be... distracting. For these reasons, I have brought in one little red riding hood to instead speak for me. Meanwhile, I'm gonna go knock off for the day. With that said, I now leave you in the capable hands of one Ruby Rose."

"Wait, huh?" Ruby asked, looking up from her comic book in surprise. She found herself in the Author's chair, nearly flipping over due to her slouched position she had been in while sitting on the couch not a millisecond ago! She waved her arms about frantically and finally righted herself! "Okay... why am I here?" she wondered.

"Talk to the audience kiddo," Eltnum said. "Tell them what's what with the Author!"

"Huh? O-oh, uh..." Ruby said, looking nervous upon being put on the spot like this. "W-well, uh... currently our Author is dealing with a troubling situation as of late. A situation... called life. While they have not revealed their age as of yet, seeing as there is no reason to keep it totally anonymous, understand that our Author is actually going into college relatively soon, and having to do a lot of work there has certainly been very taxing on them and have put them in a bit of a tailspin. That and they also get easily distracted with other things that they are trying to put out."

"They want to create other stories aside from just this one, but have been unable to get anything of substance off the ground. They hope to satisfy you all in the near future with more chapters of this story, and newer stories in the near future. Sooner, rather than later."

"They do have other chapters of this story in mind, and to at least give you an impression of what is to come next, here are some of the things that the Author wants to release:

The return of the beauty/drag pageant.

A Seth-centric chapter.

A second chapter with the villains.

Merkava saying 'hi' to everybody.

Nine studying Beacon.

Sho Minazuki meeting Scharlachrot.

The kids seeing a Rangers recording.

More about Hyde and Ruby's confusing feelings... eheh, uh, reading that myself made me feel very awkward."

"It may take a little bit longer before an official chapter can get up. Family drama has come up that has put a dampener on our Author's spirits as of most recent. Something having to do with a family member, and they may require a bit more time before vigor can be totally renewed."

"All the same, they felt that they should release this message as an apology of sorts for taking so long to post anything new. We hope you continue to leave suggestions for other stories that you would like to see."

"And ships! Don't forget ships!" Eltnum yelled.

"Why are you so obsessed with that!?" Ruby replied.

...

_**A/N: Yeah. Nothing else that really needs to be said. I do hope that any delays aren't too hindersome for you all, and that you will understand. College is on the horizon, and that should hopefully leave me with more time to work on things like this since I will be on my own and such. And aside from things like handling college stuff and working on the side to help build up a little bank, I most recently had something happen with my family the day I started writing this. Nothing that was awful or angsty, but enough to give me a shake. So I apologize once again for all of the delays. I truly do want to write more of this, and I truly do want to write different stories for you all to enjoy. More story driven stuff. I felt the need to write this to at least explain myself a bit and not have to worry about you all being unsatisfied with delays. I hope that you understand, and I will provide more in the future.**_


	20. Flawed

Mai Hatsume was a girl (sort of) who lived life happily with her head held high. Despite having a large challenge thrust upon her in her life, from being born as Mai Hatsuki, the heir to a powerful family, a chance encounter with a grimoire transformed Mai into a girl and would leave her trying to forge a totally new identity for now _her_self. It wasn't all bad, however. Mai would make great friends thanks to this transformation like Noel, Makoto, Tsubaki, and more. Not to mention, she would also go on a load of adventures and see some incredible things.

Most recently, Mai would end up travelling and exploring these other worlds that had come upon her own. She hadn't spent time with a lot of the kids that had been met by Noel, Ragna and some of the others, but rather spent her time just taking in the sights of the world. From the more mundane and simple places from the likes of Narukami or Kido's Earths, or the fantastical but not as advanced Mai's own world, Remnant.

But now that she'd had her fill, Mai wanted to try hanging out with and getting to know some of those offworlders. A chance to get to know some of these people, mainly kids, that had become good friends with the likes of Makoto or Noel. At the moment, she was travelling in the city of Kanzakai, home of Hyde Kido, Linne, Seth, and a few of those other kids, just taking in the sights of the dark, foggy city in the evening light. It thankfully was not a full moon, so there was little risk of anything adverse from that Hollow Knight coming in and putting her at risk. But even if there was, she would easily hack them to pieces with Gallia Sphyra: Outseal in a millisecond.

As she continued walking, she found that she was actually close to Kido's home. She thought that she might actually stop by and say hello. Maybe get a chance to know him and his party a bit more. Hopefully get something to eat too, as Mai was always ready to eat.

As she continued walking, however, she felt like something was... watching her. Something that was... getting close. Mai looked around subtly, trying to ascertain what was around her. Finally, she felt the entity just to her right, where an alley was coming near.

She pulled out Outseal from nowhere and spun around to aim it directly at the alley, which was totally obscured by darkness! "Okay," she said, "I know you're in there, so you might as well come out before I gut you!"

There was silence for a moment, but then, the sound of footsteps were heard getting closer. Mai kept her spear ready, but lowered it slightly as a dumbfounded look came across her features. "Is... is that you, Heart?" she asked.

The figure she was looking at looked exactly like Heart Aino, the Extraordinarily Rare Maiden herself. But there were... differences. While Mai hadn't known Heart for very long, she could tell that this girl was practically nothing like the Heart she'd seen on the off chance or had heard of from the others.

For one thing, her outfit choice was practically nothing like what she'd heard Heart was used to wearing. Her uniform was pitch black, she wore long matching boots with gold buttons, and a matching black hat decorated with a metal heart over a red strap. She also had a black cape of all things, and matching white gloves. But the subtlest difference of all, was that her hair was a great deal longer than Heart's, stretching all the way down to the back of her knees!

"Who... who are you?" Mai asked. "You're not Heart, are you?"

"I am," the girl replied. "And yet, I am not."

"What does that mean?" Mai asked. "You either are or you aren't, not both."

"For now," the girl replied, "you may call me 'Dark Heart.'"

"Okay," Mai replied, "Dark Heart. Might I ask why you're following me?"

Dark Heart did not reply at first, merely seeming to analyze Mai closely. She walked a few feet closer, still scanning her eyes over Mai's body. Mai did not feel comfortable with the way that Dark Heart was looking at her so intently, gripping Outseal harder as she readied to retaliate.

"You are... conflicted," Dark Heart replied. "Your soul and your body are at odds with one another. You should not be."

Mai felt her body shudder in surprise by what she just heard. She looked Dark Heart with wide eyes, trying to figure out what she had just heard. "What... how did you-how did you know about that?" she asked.

"I have done... research," Dark Heart replied. "I know who you are, and I know what you are. And I know of how you are at odds with your own being."

Mai looked away, gritting her teeth in frustration. She hated it whenever that was brought up. She wanted to just forget it, but it was such a fundamental fact about her that it was near impossible to.

She didn't bring it up to her friends because she personally did not care about it any longer, but there were some that never forgot. The biggest example was her father, who practically disowned her thanks to her transformation. Deeming it as a 'disgrace' and an 'embarrassment.'

It wasn't like Mai had chosen to become who she was now. It was an accident. Just an accident, nothing that deserved hate or scorn. And, in fact, for the longest time, Mai hated herself over it. She hated herself more than her father could ever hate her, so hearing the negative reactions from him was particularly unmerited and certainly unwanted, when Mai herself was already giving herself enough of a scorning inside.

"You do not reply," Dark Heart said. "So that tells me that I am correct, am I not?"

"Not one bit," Mai replied, looking Dark Heart right in the eye. "Yeah, at first, it was not easy. It was not wanted. But I accepted it."

"I learned that, this is who I am. Even if I didn't ask to transform, life just happens sometimes. You can't change that. You can only accept it, no matter what happened, and try to adjust and move on."

"So you're... happy, with yourself?" Dark Heart asked.

"Of course I am!" Mai replied. "Sure, even I know that I'm not always perfect. I can be dense, oblivious, have a crap memory, but I like who I am. And... I wouldn't have myself any other way!"

Dark Heart blinked, still looking at Mai closely. "I see," she said. She turned and began walking away.

"Wait! That's it?" Mai asked. "You just turn up and leave, just like that?"

"I was only wondering," Dark Heart replied, "how you live with your own imperfection. I was wondering if you hated yourself, or have learnt to accept it. Now I know."

"So what was the point of that?" Mai asked.

"Merely... perspective," Dark Heart replied. "You're not the only one with an imperfect existence. With a sense that there is something wrong with yourself that you cannot allow. Only unlike you, where you have learned to accept it, I must remove it."

"What are you talking about?" Mai asked. She was struggling hard to understand what Dark Heart meant. The only thing she could think of was something related to Heart Aino herself. But how?

"You don't mean Heart Aino, do you?" she asked.

Dark Heart turned with a reproachful look in her eye. A look of other disdain at the very mention of Heart. "I do," she replied.

Before Mai could say anything else, Dark Heart jumped away into the shadows. Mai tried to follow her, running as fast as she could! Dark Heart was right ahead of her, her dark look making it hard to follow her in the night, but the pink hair was easy enough to track!

Mai threw Outseal towards her, knocking her off her feet with the staff body! "Where do you think you're going?" Mai asked, jumping after her, and attempting to pin her to the ground! Dark Heart easily grabbed Mai's wrists and wrapped her legs around Mai's waist! She flipped Mai off of her and held her arms at uncomfortable angles!

"I have said enough!" Dark Heart said angrily. "I already mentioned it before. One of us is imperfect. One of us is flawed and broken. One of us does not deserve to continue living. But with everything that I have gone through, I will not allow that one to be me."

"Why can't you both live!?" Mai asked.

"There can only be one," Dark Heart replied. "Only one of us can live in this, or any, universe."

She let Mai's wrists go, and jumped away in a blur of black and pink! Mai sat back up, but saw that Dark Heart was already gone. Mai sighed heavily, picking herself back up and hefting Gallia Sphyra: Outseal in her hands. She looked to the staff, hoping for guidance in this situation.

She didn't know who Dark Heart was. She didn't know where she came from. She only hoped that she could find peace, without having to kill one of Mai's friends.

Choosing to set aside that mystery for the time being, she at least felt that it would be in her best interest to call Makoto or Noel so they could warn Heart. Once more, she found herself walking through the streets of Kanzakai, but with a feeling of melancholy hanging over her head.

Not far away, another imperfect being was watching the altercation. Lured by the both of them, the Basilisk of the Abyss found them intriguing. The one with the pink hair was filled with hatred and negativity, a being of total darkness. While the other was in a body not their own, continuing conflict therein.

"Interesting," Merkava mused. "Such beings are worthy of attention. They are enticing and I would wish to taste how they are in such a manner. Body and soul are a flavor that is one and the same, but such entities would be deliciously unique. Perhaps another time."

Looking at Dark Heart reminded Merkava of Cinder Fall, and how she was filled with pain and agony perpetually scarred into her soul. But while Cinder embraced it and was allured by it, Dark Heart seemed to deny it and looked for a way to remedy it. He wondered if they would eventually cross paths, and whether or not Cinder's nature would lead her to manipulate Dark Heart, or if Dark Heart would simply remove her outstretched hand.

Merkava could somewhat relate to the prospects of being conflicted with your own existence. Dark Heart denied it. Mai embraced it. While he just accepted it.

He knew that he was a flawed being, a Void with a human soul, and yet there was nothing he could do to change that. He ate humans and drained them of their EXS just for his own survival. He took no pleasure in it, as it was merely all he could do to live as a Void.

He was as he was. He could not change. And perhaps he and Mai could relate on that.

Merkava let out a graveling, purring sound at the prospects of meeting Mai again. Perhaps he could meet her again. Not to drain her EXS, but merely to say "hello."

So, he did so. He leapt across buildings, clawing himself forward with his stretching limbs before he reached Mai walking down the street, talking to her friends. Merkava dropped in front of Mai and loomed over her, with a massive smile on his face.

"Hello again," he growled happily. Mai could only stare at him, eyes twitching in shock, before she screamed at the top of her lungs, "Please don't eat me!" Merkava did not find pleasure in eating people, but he did find pleasure in things like this.

* * *

_**A/N: I'm baaaack! Boy it's been a long while. I think it's safe to say that this is the longest break between chapters I've ever had, even garnering an apology chapter for the delay. **_

_**But, I'm happy to say that I'm back and feeling hyped to lead to more chapters in the near future! Hopefully. Maybe. Anyway, this was a spur of the moment chapter that I wrote literally the day I posted it. It happened that fast and I was pleased with it, feeling that I could release it.**_

_**So, this was a chapter that I wrote as a bit of a self-commentary about, well, myself. Now, I often leave myself feeling conflicted sometimes just from my own awkward behavior and decision making or even just the way I think sometimes. I think that this is something many of us can relate to, and sometimes leaves us feeling like we are flawed. And as I am moving into college, that feeling has unfortunately not left, but has waned slightly.**_

_**For Mai, I used her as sort of a representation of how I normally am. I know these things about myself, but I don't let them get me down. I embrace them. I know these are a part of myself, and won't let them hurt me. And the brief bit about her father was a slight jab to some of my own family members. I love my family and they have done so, so much to help me in life, but there are times when they can annoy me (what family doesn't?) and I find that in times where I do something that even I find as just a boneheaded thing to do, like with how Mai reacted, I do enough self-reprimanding that anything from them leaves me feeling like, "No kidding! I totally didn't think that there was anything that I needed to feel bad about there!"**_

_**Dark Heart was somewhat a part of myself that comes about whenever I feel negative. When I just frustrate myself to the point where I find I don't like myself in the moment. Where I think I'm an idiot and am flawed and broken. Again, these are things that only happen in certain instances and there's nothing that has to be worried over, just something I felt should be brought up.**_

_**And finally, we have Merkava. A bit of a short appearance here because, well, he should have been featured. But he was the part of myself that accepts these aspects of myself. Not quite like Mai where I embrace them, but more understand that these are facets of my being and cannot be changed and the most I can do is live with them.**_

_**Last thing I'll comment on about this chapter was Dark Heart was a character I wanted to bring in here real quick! She's a new character for the latest version of Arcana Heart 3, Love Max Six Stars Xtend! (and all those exclamation points are a part of the title). There really isn't anything known about her character yet, other than the fact that she has a deep seated hatred for Heart. Any number of theories can be made about her as of now, a clone of Heart, a version of Heart from another dimension or timeline, take your pick. I mean, there obviously has to be a connection to Heart considering her name is literally "Dark Heart."**_

_**Either way, she seemed like a fun character that I could throw in there to add some mystery and have everyone wonder, "just who is she?" considering she does not have a definitive character as of yet, again, save for her hatred of Heart. I know that I'm jumping the gun a bit, and there might be OOC behavior considering we technically don't know her character yet, but I figured that it's cool. **_

_**Anywho, thank you as always for reading! I am very happy to be back, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Again, this was just something I wrote up on the spot because I got the inspiration bug. But, once again, I thought that it was acceptable and could get out there! Let me know what you think, as always! And until next time, have a fantastic evening! And take care!**_

_**(PS: Managed to write the entire chapter without any typos, so I definitely take some points for that one XD!)**_


	21. The Forbidden Land

Seth was, above all else, an assassin. That was all that anybody needed to know about him. It was about all there truly was about him.

For practically his entire life he has lived with the guilt of his family having taken part in the rebellion that ended the Night Blade over his head. Ever since, he dedicated practically his entire life to make up for that mistake. And the only way that he could do that was by ending the neverending cycle of reincarnation of the Princess of the Night Blade herself, as well as her despot brother. And in order to do _that _he had to take the Insulator from its current user, Hyde. Which may more than likely involve having to kill him.

But there was something that had begun holding Seth back from his mission. A tiny shred of humanity that told him it wasn't right to kill Hyde, or even Linne. That didn't stop him from attacking them practically every chance he got, however. Even going so far as to string up Linne to a tree after Hyde had defeated her to prove himself worthy of besting "The Paradox," and was prepared to steal Insulator from Hyde in order to destroy her.

He found Hyde broken and beaten after getting defeated by Paradox, which was only natural. Paradox was as close any had gotten to becoming a Re-Birth since Kuon and Hyde was nothing more than a hatchling In-Birth. Even with the Indulgence of Insulation, beating Paradox was practically impossible. But when Seth considered making a killing blow, to either Hyde or Linne, he just up and ran away. It was all confusing.

He knew in his heart that he had to kill Linne in order to make amends for the sins of his ancestors, and to stop the chaos and destruction brought by the Night Blade's mere continued existence. But he found that he wasn't strong enough to do so. Not yet at least. But he, along with his employer, kept telling himself that he would be.

Tonight, however, was not another assassination attempt, but rather a search. A chance to investigate the new world order. A chance to learn more about those that Hyde and Linne had gotten close to in recent days.

He had a small handful of meetings before with some of these others, merely just staying to the side and watching everyone and how they behaved. Sticking to the side and observing. But he needed more. He needed to peel back the layers and see these people at their cores, when they did not expect or anticipate anyone else to be nearby.

And the perfect spot had presented itself to him in the past: Beacon Academy. The school that the four imbeciles by the name of Team RWBY attended that had become something of a favorite hangout spot for the kids Hyde and Linne had begun spending so much time with, aside from Junes or the bakery that pink-haired spaz lived at. By going in there, he should hopefully find most of them and be able to spy on them, learn more about who they were and what secrets they held.

If they had truly grown close to Hyde and Linne in the past, it would be more than likely that they would stand up in their defense should Seth ever begin to attack them fully with the intent to kill. And while he would prefer doing so while they were isolated, as he'd attempted before, if the chance arose that he would have to fight the others too, he needed to have what information he could use.

Sneaking as silently as he could, he climbed up the wall to the Beacon dorms and opened a window with a quiet, 'click.' He was sneaking into the dorm room that belonged to Team JNPR, who lived right across the hall from Team RWBY. He figured that going in there would be safer than trying to go directly into RWBY's dorm, especially if they were all inside, considering his desire to spy on them.

He found JNPR's room pitch black on the inside, meaning one of two things: They were not currently inside, or they were asleep. He rolled silently inside JNPR's dorm room, and saw that it was in fact occupied at the moment, but only two out of four of the team members were there. He could barely make it out in the dark, but it was the ninja boy that wore green and the redheaded lunatic that would make even Heart seem sane.

He landed just beside the redhead's bed, due to it being positioned right up to the window, and began tiptoeing away. He needn't bother searching this team's room, they weren't that important. They were on casual terms with Hyde and Linne, nowhere near as close as Team RWBY had gotten to them, so he didn't have to worry about them yet. Plus, he didn't want to run the risk of them waking up with him still inside.

Unfortunately for him, Nora had grabbed onto his long coat in her sleep, causing him to stop in place. His eyes widened in surprise and he carefully looked behind him to see Nora holding onto his coat with her right hand. Gently as could be, he grabbed his coat and tried to pull it out of her hand. Yet she was holding on hard, a goofy smile on her sleeping face.

_Oh come on, _he thought. _Let go you psychopath! _He yanked back harder, hoping to force it out of her grip! Yet that only managed to elicit the opposite response he was looking for.

Nora grabbed the coat with both hands now, and yanked back, causing Seth to fall right into her bed! Nora grabbed onto him with both arms, giggling happily in her sleep as she hugged him! Seth's face contorted in any number of uncomfortable ways as he did everything he could to remain silent!

He delivered a reproachful look to Nora as she continued holding him like a teddy bear, and thought over what he could do to get out. His arms were not pinned to his sides, which was good, so he could figure out what do do from that angle. He finally got an idea, but had to hope it would work.

He carefully reached over her head, and grabbed an unoccupied pillow from Nora's other side. He then expertly slid his way out of her arms, sliding the pillow into his spot, allowing Nora to hug that instead. Sighing in relief from the fact that she did not react, Seth tiptoed his way back over to the door, and slid his way out.

"That was close," he said, slowly regaining his composure. "That could have ended badly." Steeling himself, he made his way over to Team RWBY's door. Barely even five feet away, he got up close, and readied to turn the knob.

"Come on Velvet, it's not that big a deal," Coco said, turning the corner of the hallway, Velvet walking alongside her. "So what if you feel self-conscious? It's an all girls thing. Besides, those Sato-somethin' Fuji-something, and Yamagi girls never shut up about those hot springs of theirs."

"I don't care Coco!" Velvet replied. "It's still awkward! The idea of being around others, having my body on full display is just - ugh! It's as bad as having people staring at my ears!"

"You're being dramatic," Coco replied. They both walked down the hall, continuing to have their little spat. As they did, Seth watched them move while latched to the ceiling, his dual daggers, the Eliminators dug into the ceiling to keep him anchored.

By the time the girls finished walking, he jumped down from the ceiling, sweat across his brow. "That was even closer," he thought. "I need to be a lot more aware of the number of people walking around here."

Throwing caution to the wind, Seth silently cracked open Team RWBY's door to see if anyone was inside. He saw that the room was unoccupied, though the lights were on. Choosing to plan ahead, Seth slipped inside, silently shutting the door behind him as he took numerous glances around the room. As he did, a noise caught his attention.

Spinning around to a side door, he heard the unmistakable sound of a shower running, accompanied by the muffled sound of music going. Clearly one of the girls was in there, so he knew that he would have to be especially careful for when they started to get out.

Seth's eyes returned to his search of the room and saw... woah. Did they seriously position their beds like that? On purpose? Was that a bet or were they really more stupid than he thought?

Curiosity getting the better of him, Seth plucked at the ropes on the beds to the left of the room, before moving over to the set on the right and carefully poked the books that acted as extended legs. These things... could not be stable. Like... how did they even manage this in the first place? Cartoon logic?

Figuring it best to ignore them, instead, Seth continued looking for things that actually mattered to his investigation. A journal, a document, something that could tell him more about Team RWBY that might prove useful in the future for when he would have to fight them at all.

He started first with a desk closer to the front door, investigating it casually for anything of worth. Most of it just seemed to be homework from any of the teammembers. He saw that Weiss and Blake girl got star-studded grades on assignments from about a month ago, no surprise there. For a brief period of time Blake's grades were slipping a bit, teachers labeling her as "distracted" or "fatigued," but she has since gotten better. Yang got decent enough grades, and Ruby surprisingly got some quite good grades.

Seeing nothing of any prospect there, Seth instead moved around to see if there was anything aside from schoolwork in there. He saw a book with Weiss's emblem on it that was locked shut. With just a little prodding with an Eliminator, he poked open the lock and looked to the most recent page.

_"Yu Narukami," _the book read, "_Is a boy who has a lot of unique factors about him. He has shown himself professional, takes work seriously, is a great multitasker, and tends to drag the likes of Ruby or Yosuke back to focus if they ever drift off. And yet, he is what some has dubbed as "a troll". Usually making snarky remarks or using dry humor. He tends to frustrate me in that regard. He just _does _things that baffle me, yet seems to find them as totally normal! Still, he never leaves anything boring. And I can't help but feel that any girl would be lucky to have him as a boyfriend/husband in the future. No wonder why he's such a heartthrob._"

Seth shut the book, an eyebrow raised. "She does strike me as the type to keep a journal," he thought. He locked the book back shut and put it where he found it, his mind now connecting Weiss and Yu together in his head. "Hmm," he thought. "The Ice Queen and the Kingpin of Steel. If people in this school actually gave a single crap about straight-shipping with these girls that may actually be a good contender in her corner."

He was not one to simply be unawares of Team RWBY's ship pairings, and how practically everybody in the school shipped them every which way. Literally. Every. Single. Damn. Way. Even Ruby and Yang had a ship pairing, what the hell!? Th-they're sisters for crying out loud!

Seth shook his head. He didn't know what could have possessed the students (or even staff) to begin shipping them like this, he just found it anywhere from bizarre to disturbing. Ruby, when he'd brought it up when he first heard about it, found it hilarious. Yang did most of the time, save for when Ruby joked about shipping her with Weiss, that just made her frustrated - since Ruby always brought it up when Weiss happened to be around her, and then the two just ran off with it from there.

Seth couldn't help but find Ruby to be one odd duck. Speaking of, he searched around Ruby's stuff to see if she had anything like the journal he just read from Weiss. He did happen to find one, and looked through it.

Wasn't much of a journal like the one he found from Weiss, namely just filled with different reactions or ideas in her head. Mostly weapon related ones. Like, a lot of weapon related ones. _A lot_-a lot of weapon ones. A lo- "Good grief, woman," Seth said, as he continued flipping through the book, "do you think of anything else!?"

Sure enough, he did find a section on something else. "_Had a dream about a wolf last night,_" Ruby wrote. "_No bueno! No bueno at all!_"

Seth raised an eyebrow. "Not a fan of wolves, eh?" he thought. He flipped around a bit, finding something Ruby apparently did enjoy: strawberries. They appeared to be her favorite food, despite everyone else on the planet seeming to associate her with cookies. Now he would have to keep this in mind too.

He tossed the book on the desk and continued looking. There had to be something else here that could help him. Next, he saw a book around where he established was Blake's work station. He picked it up and opened it to the bookmarked page, not bothering to look at the cover.

Seth's face suddenly flushed a bright red color as he looked at the contents within the pages! He read line after line, flipping back to the front of the book for some context, and continued reading around at a rapid pace! This... this was a smut novel!

Well, he would've assumed that Blake girl was into this kind of stuff, but he never actually thought that she _was_! He continued reading, his teenage hormones having stolen the wheel and Seth's better judgement was now along for the ride!

_This... I shouldn't be... _he thought, but most rational thought was quickly quelled as he continued looking! _Oh no! Oh that is... that is not anywhere close to acceptable! How-? Oh my. C-can you honestly do that with three of... those, and two pairs of feet?_

As he read, upon the next page he found he saw something had been scribbled on the bottom of the page in what looked like red marker. _"Now that's a katana~" _"Who in the world put that there?" Seth asked, seeing it did not resemble Blake's handwriting from his earlier observations.

Seth had been so entrapped in everything he was reading he barely noticed the sound of the shower being turned off if not for his temporary confusion as to the writing on the page! Good thing he did though, as he hastily shut the book he was reading and promptly zoomed underneath the set of bunk beds strung up by ropes without a second's hesitation! It was a tight fit, but Seth's relatively small frame allowed him to slip underneath and remain totally still and out of sight as the shower's occupant got out.

"Ha~!" a happy sigh he identified as the voice of Yang was heard as she plodded her way out of the bathroom. "That felt great~!"

Seth turned his head, finding he was able to look out from the bottom of the bed to just barely see Yang's bare and moist legs as she made her way over to her wardrobe and began pilfering through her clothes. "Hm..." she said thoughtfully. "What am I gonna wear?"

_What else? _Seth thought to himself, a bemused look mien now on his face. _You and your team barely ever wear anything aside from the same outfits._

The door to the room suddenly opened and Seth recognized the unmistakable shoes and stockings of Blake as she stumbled her way in the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Blake!" Yang said, sounding a bit miffed. "Don't do that! If I had begun changing somebody could've seen me!"

"It's your own fault," Blake replied, "for not locking the front door while you were in the shower." Blake stumbled her way to the set of beds opposite Seth's current hiding position, and sat down, the assassin edging his way further into his hiding spot so as to ensure she didn't spy him.

"Besides," Blake added, "you joke all the time about how you have the most 'smoking bod in Beacon' or something like that. You honestly want me to believe you wouldn't mind showing it off?"

"On my own time darling," Yang replied. Seth couldn't see it but he swore that she must've waved her hand in an over the top manner for emphasis. It seemed like something she'd do.

He was distracted further as he saw Yang's towel flop onto the ground. His eyes bugged out from shock. The book he'd been reading earlier was not helping his hormones in the slightest as he now knew that just out of sight, was a totally naked girl with indeed a 'smoking' body! It was only every ounce of training he'd had that kept him from flopping around like a demented fish in the attempt to see her fully exposed, and hence totally blow his hiding space!

Blake sighed. "Whatever you say Yang," she said, as she began taking off her shoes.

"Well somebody's touchy," Yang replied as she began getting her clothes out. "What happened? Date with Sun not go well?"

"Was not a date!" Blake said firmly. In fact, she sounded almost panicked.

"O...K," Yang replied, sounding a bit stunned. Even Seth thought that was an abrupt response. Blake cleared her throat before she continued.

"We were hanging out," Blake replied. "Plenty of others were there. It just went on longer than it needed to, and now I am really tired."

"Sure there's not another reason you're tired?" Yang asked. Blake promptly stood up, shoes now off, but was holding one in her hand. She walked over to Yang and Seth heard an audible 'clonk!' as Blake no doubt brought that shoe on the back of Yang's head, which only elicited a casual 'ow' from the Sunny Dragon.

"I'm getting in the shower now," Blake said.

"Can I join you?" Yang asked.

"Shut up," Blake said. She shut the door to the shower firmly, Yang snickering behind her.

"Never gets old," Yang said, "teasing that girl." She finished getting dressed and left the dorm room. Probably to go meet up with some of the others.

Seth waited until he heard the sound of the shower running again to exit from under the bed. He half-considered looking for more dirt on Team RWBY, but found that it would be better if he just left before he ran the risk of getting himself into more trouble than he'd barely just avoided by the skin of his teeth.

He silently slipped out of the room and began walking through the halls of Beacon once again. He felt his face, still feeling the heat coming off his cheeks as he moved. He had come one step too close to seeing things that he should _not _be seeing!

He needed to remain focused. Maybe checking on some of the other students in the lounge or the forge or something would help him. Or yet... even better, maybe checking the records in the office would help him.

He couldn't exactly recall the layout of this place, but he knew by sneaking into the vents, he would be able to find his way. He found a vent cover not far away, and snapped it open with his Eliminators, before slipping inside, snapping the cover back shut behind him. Crawling to the best of his abilities, using every ounce of his skills as an assassin as he went, he managed to get a path going for him.

He continued sneaking through the vents, sure enough, coming upon the lounge not far away. Sitting at the little kitchenette, he spotted Ragna speaking with Mitsuru.

"Okay," Mitsuru said, rubbing her brow, "I'm still trying to wrap my head around this. So you aren't really dying from that... Azure thing?"

"Well," Ragna replied, "the Azure Grimoire is part of the Black Beast. It's basically what's left of it. If I use it to a total degree I end up basically transforming myself into it. That's why the Azure isn't 'mine.' And like hell I would ever want to."

"Okay," Mitsuru said, "but that still doesn't explain my question. Is it or is it not killing you?"

"Yes," Ragna replied. Mitsuru balked and merely looked at him harder. "That doesn't answer my-" she began, before Ragna cut her off with another, "yes."

Yuzuriha walked around them and gestured to the teenagers that were sitting in the living space. "Uh, sorry to interrupt your lovers quarrel," she said, "but don't you think we should be paying attention to them?"

"What do you mean?" Ragna asked. "They're fine."

Back in the living space, Kanji was weeping into Linne as if she were a pillow. The girl herself was fast asleep and didn't seem to mind. "Why isn't there more...?" Makoto asked, looking at an empty bottle. "Why isn't there more...?"

Yosuke was propped up next to her and had his hands against his throat. "I sacrified my voice for this..." he gasped.

"Mommy..." Jaune said, laying on his back staring up at the ceiling, his legs thrown over the seat of the couch, "I don't want to do this anymore..."

"Fuck you all..." Scharlachrot said, laying face first next to him. "Fuck you all... fuck you all..."

Yu was standing in the center of the crowd, his breath scant. Finally he pointed accusingly at everyone! "I am the walrus, koo koo ka choo!" he yelled, before flopping right on his back in defeat!

Ragna, Mitsuru, Yuzuriha and the still hidden Seth could only look at all of them in minor amusement or confusion. "I don't get it," Ragna said, "they were only drinking diet coke and singing karaoke for three hours straight, how did they get drunk?"

"I've learned not to question these things," Mitsuru said.

Deciding that he wouldn't have to worry about those idiots, Seth snuck back away and tried to find somebody else that would be of interest. The only ones amongst that group that he _might _have to worry about were Yu and Yosuke. Although, as he just saw, they were not highly intelligent and their powers were inconsistent, so he would not concern himself with them for now.

Scharlachrot also had his interest. An artificial human that had nearly destroyed the world with a super weapon at one point. Her mental stability put her at risk, however, and made her too eratic for him to think she would construct coherent enough actions that would be a serious concern for him. Or it could end up being the exact opposite.

The sound of somebody else approaching caught his attention and he went into a panic! He remained totally still so as not to draw attention to himself as he moved, and listened closely! "So," the voice of Nebula said, "does this mean I get to see what you look like without that hat of yours?"

"No," Mei replied. "Not happening."

"What do you mean?" Nebula asked. "You can't tell me you're going to bathe with that thing on?"

"Yes," Mei replied. "So long as others can see me, then yes."

"You're one tough cookie," Nebula said.

"Yes," Mei said again.

"She and Ragna should form a band," Seth thought quietly. "Now what is all this talk everyone's been having about bathing together? Who in their right mind would ever want that?"

He continued crawling through the vents, before a storm of steam obscured his vision up ahead. He figured he came upon a bathhouse, doing what he could to crawl past it. As he did, he came up with another question.

"Wait, they have public showers and private showers?" he asked. In his paused state trying to come up with a proper explanation, which slowly formed in his head, he heard voices on the other side.

"Man," Noel said happily. "This herbal blend you have is awesome Saki!"

"I do what I can," Saki replied proudly.

"Hey Noel," Chie said, "didn't you mention something about bringing that Tsubaki girl here?"

"Yeah," Noel said, "she declined. Had some justice or something going on."

"From the way you describe that girl," Saki said, "she greatly concerns me."

"We don't discriminate Sa-Sa!" Heart said.

Seth shook his head. The sound of the girls voices prompted him to move on. However... his curiosity was ebbing its way into his head.

He had to shake his head firmly to get him to stay focused! He was a trained assassin for crying out loud! He couldn't just go doing something as juvenile as spying on girls in the shower, even if it was for the sake of his mission!

"Hey Weiß," Chie said, "you doing okay?"

"I am..." the Valkyria replied, "not used to the concept of bathing together. I cannot help but feel... confused."

"Aw, don't worry about it!" Heart said happily. "After all, we're girls here! We've all got the same parts!"

That did it. Seth had to get out of there, now! Just then, a blade slammed through the vent, striking Seth across the face!

The assassin recoiled in pain, backing up as quick as he could! "Woah!" Chie said. "Weiß, what was that about!?"

"I thought I saw something in there," Weiß replied. "But it seems I may have just been seeing things."

"Uh..." Noel said. "Who's going to pay for that?"

"Not it!" everyone else, including Weiß said.

* * *

Marie had just been caught in a poetry storm! Looking at the shattered moon of Remnant had filled her with nothing but inspiration, and for forty-five minutes straight, she had been scribbling down in her notebook as fast as she could! Eventually, she heard a sound 'plop' down behind her.

Jumping in surprise from her mellow getting surprised, she turned to see Seth sitting against the wall of the academy, panting something fierce, and a massive bruise overtaking the right side of his face! He had decided to throw in the towel and call this operation a wash. In his current state with his hormones playing with his mind and now a legitimate injury to deal with, he would need to meditate for several hours at least before he went back in there.

Marie meanwhile was just confused from looking at him. "Uh," she said, "are you okay there?"

Seth looked up at her, before managing to find his way to stand and gave her a firm look, pointing at her face. "I am filled with nothing but hate," he said.

"Story of my life bro," Marie replied.

* * *

The Next Day:

"Hey Kido," Seth said, catching Hyde by surprise. "Oh, Seth," Hyde said awkwardly. "What can I help you with?"

Seth handed Hyde a box of strawberries. "You didn't get them from me," he said. Hyde raised an eyebrow and took the box from Seth.

"What're these-?" Hyde began, before Seth cut him off. "Give them to Rose," Seth said. "You're welcome. Bye." The assassin was still bitter over what had happened the other night, not able to get any sleep, making him especially irritable.

Hyde was wondering what that was about, before he met up with Ruby. "Hey Hyde!" Ruby said happily. "What've you got here?"

"Uh... I brought you some strawberries," Hyde replied. Ruby took him by surprise with a long-long-long dramatic gasp, happily taking a strawberry and taking a bite out of it! She cooed in delight, her body shaking in delight!

"Hyde!" she said. "You are the best friend ever!"

"Hehe," Hyde chuckled, "no problem. So, coffee?"

"Yup!" Ruby said in delight, stealing more strawberries as they walked.

"Cream and five sugars, yeah?" Hyde asked.

"You know me so well!" Ruby said, delivering a massive hug!

Nearby, Seth was still watching their exchange, before continuing to head on his way in a huff. "Why do they have to be so disgustingly happy?" he asked. "Makes me feel like the bad guy in all this."

* * *

_**A/N: This one was fun. I kind of had to rein myself in as I wrote it, thinking over how far I was willing to go with this whole ordeal. The idea of taking the strongly grim and professional Seth and throw him into a situation where his hormones run wild was too fun to ignore.**_

_**I felt I'd been misusing Seth thus far, so I decided to play it up and make this funny little bit here. He seemed like a prime candidate for the whole, reluctant spying pervert, thing anyhow. So, it sort of grew from there.**_

_**I also added a bit of teasing between a potential shipping between Weiss and Yu because... I dunno. I've seen it hinted at before. Still looking for who she should be shipped with. Mind still drawing a blank in there. Also got some more teasing on Black Sun, so that's always fun! And Night Rose, as I've been calling it, between Hyde and Ruby!**_

_**Oddly enough, the funniest part for me was the concept of Yu and the others having a drunk karaoke event. I don't even know where that thought came from, it just happened! Also, I threw in that little jab at Ragna in the meantime just to further cement how little I know about his backstory! Why does he have to frustrate me so much!? XD**_

_**Not really much else to say, this was just fun. Just had to break for time every now and then while writing it. As you do.**_


	22. New Arrivals 2: Nine Minus Four

"Hmm... Hmm... Hmm..."

Weiss looked Yu Narukami in the eye, her scarred eye nearly twitching from the repeated 'hmm'ing that Yu was offering to her. The Kingpin was merely continuing to stare at her, not offering a single word, as Weiss was just standing in front of him, returning his stare with an added layer of ice. However, she failed to comprehend that Yu was an alien incapable of reacting to most human emotions, so he could naturally keep this up all day.

"Okay," Weiss said, finally giving up, "any particular reason why you're staring at me!?"

"Oh," Yu replied, "I was just looking at your new outfit. It looks good on you."

Weiss felt her face redden slightly. "W-why do you have to make it weird?" she asked. "It's just a new outfit."

"I'm not," Yu replied. "I'm just saying, it looks good. You look more distinguished."

Weiss had indeed changed her outfit. She was now wearing a pale white-blue v-neck top, above a blue shrug with a raised collar, puffy blue sleeves, with the Schnee emblem on the left, in addition to sporting a pair of black gloves. For her bottoms, she was wearing a long white tulle skirt that split in the front. Around her waist are three white belts with a medium-sized pouch attached to the lowest one. She also had long, pale blue wedge-heel boots with white frills coming out from the top at the front.

In addition, she wore a pair of ruby earring that matches her icicle-shaped tiara with a diamond-shaped ruby in the center. She also changed her hair style a bit: her ponytail now braided, and she has grown out her bangs, framing her face more closely.

Yu smiled a bit, as he put his fingers together as if he were framing a picture. "Your face is more accentuated," he said. "It brings out your scar."

"M-my scar?" Weiss asked, putting a hand to her face.

"Yes," Yu replied. "But it suits you. Makes you seem powerful."

Weiss couldn't handle the continued flustering! "I-it's not just me," she said. "Everyone has a new outfit!"

"Really?" Yu asked.

"How could you not notice," Weiss yelled, "we've all been in here for nearly two hours!"

"Yeah, Narukami!" Ruby said, positively bouncing over to the two! "Look, look, look!"

Yu looked at her, seeing that she had kept her waist cincher, now worn over a pale blouse. She wore a pair of red shorts, over which is a short, dark red skirt that is split at the side with a small brown belted strap across the gap. On her arms, she wore black bracers with brown belts around the wrist as well as black fingerless gloves. Around her waist, she now has a brown belt with several bullets and a buckle of her emblem on it. She also had thigh-high steel-toe boots with brown belts around the thighs and no laces. Her hair has also become spikier.

"How do I look?" Ruby asked. "Cool right? We saw Noel and Mai for fashion advice! I mean, they said that belts by themselves are a good fashion choice in their world and I wanted to get something that was a little-!"

Yu promptly put a finger against her lips, ceasing her continued chatter. "You shouldn't do that when people are talking," Ruby mumbled through her closed lips. Yu removed his finger, and proceded to pinch her cheek!

The flustered Ruby flailed about for a second, getting into a comedic hissy fight with Narukami, who was merely smiling at her childish motions. Weiss sighed in exasperation, not remotely tolerating any of the antics between the two.

This was supposed to be a somewhat professional ordeal. They were welcoming some new candidates to the "Tournament" from other worlds in an air-station in one of the Hiearchial cities in Ragna's world (Weiss couldn't begin to memorize their names yet). But, despite being there several hours ahead of schedule, Weiss still felt like they were running behind. Not the least bit helped by the fact that Ragna himself was nowhere to be found!

Leaving Ruby and Yu to themselves, Weiss pulled out her scroll and attempted to text Mitsuru. The Queen of Executions had become fairly invested in Ragna recently, so Weiss presumed that she would be dragging the Bloodedge over. "Mitsuru-senpai," she texted, "have you found Ragna, yet? We're running out of time!"

After a moment, Mitsuru replied. "We're here." Weiss perked her head up, spotting Mitsuru, sure enough, dragging Ragna into the airport. Alongside her, pulling him by his second arm, was a girl a few years younger than Mitsuru with brown hair and a pink top that Weiss recognized as one of Mitsuru's friends from her days in SEES named Yukari.

"Sorry for the delay," Mitsuru said. "This boy was hiding in Heart-chan's bakery when Yukari-chan and I were able to find him."

"After what happened last time," Ragna said, dusting himself off, "can you blame me?"

"Oh come now Ragna-kun," Mitsuru said, "it wasn't that bad."

"I was nearly smothered by hugs by that pink-haired lunati!" Ragna said. "How is that not a problem!? So forgive me if I'm not looking forward to meeting new people!"

Weiss sighed, again. This was typical Ragna. She felt a hand poke her shoulder, looking over to find Yukari looking at her curiously.

"So... is this normal for these two?" she asked. "I've been kinda out of the loop with filming in London the past few weeks, but Mitsuru did tell me she made a connection with that Ragna guy. So... is that normal behavior for them?"

"I should think," Weiss replied, "that it's somewhat normal behavior for Ragna most of the time."

"Well," Yukari said, "nice to see that while I've been away everybody's been getting along."

She said this as she spied Chie, Kanji, and Yukiko, whom she was familiar with by this point, speaking animatedly with Hyde and Vatista.

"So, yeah," Chie said, "that's basically what happened after that training match between Saki and I. My legs were bruised for days after that and I could barely walk!"

"Gosh," Hyde said. "Kinda glad that I'm mostly a weapons fighter, or else I would probably suffer from abuse like that myself."

"Speaking of," Kanji said, "you said you trained with Blake-san sometimes, right?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah," Hyde replied. "Why do you ask?"

"Well," Kanji said, "I was just curious."

Yukiko giggled. "He's probably wondering since he finds her cute," she said.

"You do what with who?" Hyde asked, raising an eyebrow.

"What!?" Kanji said, face burning hot! "I don't find her cute, goddammit!"

"Cute," Vatista said robotically. "Adorable. Lovable. Sweet. I do not see how Blake-'san' can be described as such. I would find her more compatible with terms as 'beautiful', 'pretty', or 'attractive'."

"Oh, not that way Vatista-chan," Yukiko said. "He's talking about her ears. You know, the cat ears she has on her head."

"And I'm not 'talking about her' that way at all!" Kanji said aggressively.

"Come on Kanji," Hyde said, shaking his head. "It's okay. We all find Blake's ears cute. You don't have to be bashful."

"I'm not!" Kanji said. "I'm just... urgh!"

"Speaking of Blake-chan," Chie said, "does anybody know where she is? She was supposed to be here too, right?"

"Said she was busy," Hyde replied. "But knowing her, she'll be sure to..." Hyde cut himself off, looking around curiously.

"Uh... Hyde-kun?" Chie asked.

"Found her," Hyde replied. He looked upward, where Blake proceeded to pounce down from the scaffolding. Like the rest of her teammates, Blake was also wearing a new outfit.

She now sported a black, collared catsuit (HAHA) with a zipper on the chest and thigh-high black boots with zippers on the outer sides. She replaced her simple white top with a long, white tailcoat that had dark gray detailing on the chest, sleeves, sides and collar. It had a narrow gray belt around the collar and a wide white belt loosely secured around her waist through the coat's belt loops, a pouch randomly attached. The front zipper of the coat was, somehow, upside down, and there were additional zippers on the sleeves. Around each wrist, she also had a black belted wristband. But the most notable change of all was her hair, which she had cut much shorter, reaching just above her shoulders, and seemed more... poofy. (Her ears were still hidden in her bow because REASONS!)

Blake smirked as she landed in front of Hyde. "One of these days," she said, "I'll be able to surprise attack you."

"What does she mean?" Chie asked.

"Oh," Hyde replied, "when we first met back in the Phantom Field she tried to sneak up on me, but I was able to find her before she could attack me. Ever since she's tried to outsmart me, but I've been able to detect her every time."

"It's become a bit of a game," Blake replied. She jumped in surprise when she saw Yukiko, who was pointing at her dramatically, almost hyperventilating! "Uh... Yukiko?" Blake asked. "Are you okay?"

"Oh Blake-chan!" Yukiko said, grabbing Blake by the shoulders! "You cut so much of your hair! Your beautiful, raven black hair!"

"Uh... yeah?" Blake said. "I... I was just trying out a new style? Why are you freaking out, does it look bad?"

"Actually, it's gorgeous on you," Yukiko said.

"Oh, thanks," Blake replied casually.

"But you should have warned me!" Yukiko said. "I wasn't ready to find such short hair on you!"

"Yukiko?" Chie said. "Girls can have short hair. In fact, Blake-chan's hair isn't even that short. My hair and Naoto-kun's hair is shorter than hers."

"You mean our Naoto-kun, right?" Kanji asked.

"Yes Kanji," Chie replied. "I mean our Naoto."

"Well of course!" Yukiko said. "But that's your definitive look. But Blake-chan has never had her hair like this before!"

Blake shook her head, sneaking out of Yukiko's grasp. "So," she said to Hyde, "are the rest of my team here?"

"Mostly," Hyde replied, pointing to where the rest of the group was gathered. "Ruby and Weiss are over there. Yang was here, but I don't know where she went."

"That's never a good thing," Blake replied.

"Hey guys!" Yang's voice said. "Look what I found!" Everyone turned to her, jumping in shock at what they found.

Like the rest of Team RWBY, she did have a new outfit herself. Her new outfit consisted of khaki coveralls, the gold zipper of which is unzipped just below the breast to reveal a white low-cut shirt. Around each thigh was a gold zipper that allows for the pants leg to be detached (she's already been having about as much fun with that as you would assume), as well as a belted strap that connects to the leg, the right leg was unzipped but still strapped on. Over the coveralls, she wore a baggy, black crop jacket with fur trim around the neck and black-and-orange straps along the sleeves. Around her waist was a black-and-orange belt with black-and-yellow folded fabric on the sides and a golden buckle of her emblem. Around her left thigh was a wide black belt with a pouch attached, in addition she had tall black boots with black laces. She also sported her classic orange scarf and purple ribbon.

However, even those that hadn't seen her new outfit were totally unconcerned, as their attention was focused on what was perched on her shoulders! For crouched on top of Yang, who was holding on tight to his ankles, was the Basilisk of the Abyss, Merkava! "This is a nice view," he said, looking around with a bird-like grin.

"Yang!" Hyde said. "Why in the world did you bring that Void in with you?!"

"Why not?" Yang replied. "He just popped over and said 'hello'. Are you telling me I can't keep him?"

"That would be disappointing," Merkava said. "I've been enjoying the added height. Makes me feel superior."

"Oh no, no!" Ragna said, stomping over to the group. "I am not having that thing over here!"

"What? Why not?" Yang asked.

"This thing," Ragna said, "is a sick, perverted swine!"

"What are you talking about?" Merkava asked.

"Five days ago," Ragna replied, "Fuyutski. I spend half the night helping you out of that swarm of ghouls out of the rare decency of my heart! And then what happens!? I come to find out the whole time I'm trying to help out a friend, that so-called friend was hitting on Noel! Who I totally, already confided to you has the body of my little sister, practically making her family! I mean, this is why I don't trust anybody anymore!"

"I wasn't hitting on her," Merkava replied. "She merely sat with me while I recovered from my encounter."

"I saw you reaching to grab her ass!" Ragna said.

"So that we could eat her!" Merkava replied.

"See Raggy?" Yang asked. "He's totally worse than you thought he was."

"Shut it blondie!" Ragna said. "I am not in the mood to deal with any of your infamous shenanigans while I'm doing everything in my power to refrain from blowing that thing off your shoulders!"

"Well I can say," Yang said, smirking like a devil, "that definitely _blows _me away."

"You were reaching for that one," Ragna said.

"Well," Yang replied, "I guess I'm just afraid of your _pun_ishment."

"I will kill you," Ragna said, eye twitching.

"You will not," Merkava said. "I find her amusing."

"You know what? Fuck it," Ragna said. "So long as you will not eat people, I will permit you to live."

"Very well," Merkava said.

As Ragna turned to leave, Yang looked at the rest of the group, spying Kanji still looking up in horror at Merkava. "Yo, Kanji?" she asked. "Are you okay?"

"That thing..." Kanji said, still staring at Merkava. "I think he made me pee a little bit."

"_Urine _trouble," Yang said. Ragna screamed in response, pulling at his hair, much to Yang's amusement.

"Do you ever not make puns?" Chie asked.

"Well," Yang replied, "seven days without a pun makes one _weak_." "I'm moving now," Merkava said, even him having gotten sick of Yang's puns.

As Ragna stomped away, the young vampire Rachel Alucard saw him leave with a hint of amusement in her otherwise stone-solid mien. "Something amusing?" Linne asked, sitting next to the Rosen Princess.

"Nothing," Rachel replied. "Just enjoying watching the dog actually spend time with people that he... tolerates."

Linne leaned her head against her hand. "Perhaps," she said. "Although I am curious, didn't you say that his brother was supposed to be here?"

"Yes," Rachel replied, "but Jubei found that it would be best that Jin meet the new arrivals on his own time. Namely because it was deemed as unsafe to have the brothers in an enclosed space. It would turn... violent."

"I see," Linne replied. "I have a similar relationship with my brother. In any case, the new arrivals should be here soon, correct?"

"Indeed," Rachel said. "Yet we still have a few missing members from the welcoming party."

"We have arrived," the monotone... eh, tone of Aigis said, as she walked into the airport with Heart and Saki right behind her. "Forgive our tardiness. Heart-chan was taking a nap."

"I know, I know!" Heart said, waving her hands around. "Don't hold it against me!"

"It can't be helped," Rachel replied, looking at her nails. "The new arrivals are set to be here soon, so you should pull yourself together."

"Huh!?" Heart said. "Oh gracious, I'm not ready yet!"

Saki put a hand to her shoulder, pulling her back down to reality. "Just relax," she said. "It'll be fine. They'll like you, I'm sure."

Heart smiled, as she did indeed calm down. Everyone filed to their respective parties, Ragna staying off to the side by himself. Ruby looked out the window eagerly, waiting for the new arrivals to show up! She could practically see them coming over any minute now! All she had to do was-!

"Excuse me?" a voice asked. Ruby looked over and saw a woman she didn't recognize standing next to her. A rather beautiful woman with styled black hair wearing a style of clothing Ruby recognized from the Investigation Team's home nation.

"Oh, hello," Ruby replied. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," the woman replied. "My name is Yumi. I was wondering if you could direct me towards the individuals of this 'Keystone Scramble Tag Battle Tournament'?"

"Oh yeah," Ruby nodded, gesturing to everyone behind her. "Everyone here is a part of - WAIT A MINUTE!" she added, jumping up and looking Yumi right in the eye!

"You're one of the new arrivals!?"

"Indeed," Yumi replied, giving a small smile. "And I take it that you are a part of this tournament?"

"That's right!" Ruby said. "My name is Ruby Rose! It's lovely to meet you!"

"Likewise," Yumi said.

The next moment, Rachel poked Ruby aside with Nago in his umbrella form. "Forgive her," the vampire said. "She's a bit... dense." "Hey!"

"Oh it's quite alright," Yumi replied. "I'm familiar with people like her. And you might be?"

"Rachel Alucard," Rachel replied. "It's a pleasure to welcome a new representative from another world."

Mitsuru was the next to walk over, offering her hand to Yumi. "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo," she said. "I am the head of the Shadow Operatives from my world. These are my companions from my world," she gestured to the group in question. "It's nice to make your acquaintance."

"And," Yumi replied, "it's a privilege to meet so many individuals from other worlds."

Ruby shook as she watched the two of them converse! "I am feeling greatly out of my league," she thought.

"Hi there!" Heart said, positively leaping over Rachel and Mitsuru to get right in Yumi's face as she took both her hands and shook them enthusiastically! "I'm Heart Aino! It's so very nice to meet more people from other worlds!"

Ruby blinked as she looked at Heart's antics. "Well," she said, "now I feel significantly better." Yumi merely smiled as she patted Heart's head.

That moment, another individual walked over. This one was a man, appearing perhaps slightly older than Mitsuru and the other Shadow Operatives, with styled black hair wearing what looked to be a military uniform. "Hmm..." he hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin.

"Uh, sir?" Weiss asked. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, yes," the man replied. "I'm just looking for the Keystone Scramble Tournament?"

"Akatsuki," Yumi said knowingly, "you're already here."

The man, Akatsuki, seemed to perk up as he looked at Yumi, the gears positively visible as they turned in his head. "Ah," he said. "I see. Well then, it is an honor to be here!" he declared, putting a hand to his chest as he stood professionally! "I am the high class technical officer of the Imperial Army, Akatsuki!"

Everyone seemed to be blown back at the force of his voice alone! "No way," Chie said. "We have an actual soldier in the tournament now?"

"Why not?" Yu said. "We have Mitsuru-san and Akihiko-san."

"Yeah," Kanji said, "but this guy seems totally on another level."

"Oh no," Hyde and Linne said simultaneously, "not this guy!"

"Wait, you know him?" Blake asked.

"Yeah," Hyde replied. "He beat up Linne, which naturally got me to take him on next. Fight ended in a draw, though."

"Not one of my better moments," Linne relented.

"How the heck did you meet him?" Chie asked. "He's from another world, isn't he?"

"He is," Hyde replied, "but I don't know how he got there. Come to think of it, I don't even think he knew."

"He really didn't," Eltnum added.

"Yeah see - AGH! Eltnum, how did you get here?!" Hyde said.

"You really think I was gonna miss out on this?" Eltnum asked. "We got one down for third party characters that ended up in UNIST first in BBTAG now, so it's only a matter of time until I get my moment to shine!"

"I remember you," Akatsuki said, looking at Eltnum and the In-Births curiously. He gestured to Eltnum. "You were my disciple, were you not?"

"You're his what?" Yukiko asked. "I never would've thought you'd have such a relationship, Eltnum-san."

"Heheh," Eltnum laughed awkwardly. "Well, he was my hero for awhile. Until he broke my heart!"

"Oh my!" Yukiko said. "Your relationship broke off! Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"I don't think you're getting it, Yukiko-senpai," Kanji said.

"Don't bother trying to explain," Chie replied. "She won't get it."

"Now then!" Akatsuki said, stalking threateningly over to the group. "I just have, one single question for you all." Everyone was stunned for a moment, wondering just what they might have done to make him seem so impossibly pissed off in just a second's notice!

"Do you know where I can get food?"

Everyone crumpled over comically from that question, save for Eltnum who was still standing casually. "Yeah, saw that coming," she said.

Off to the side, Mitsuru and Rachel looked at the ordeal with baffled expressions. "Well," Mitsuru said, "I was going to introduce myself to him, but he's rather... off. Not unlike what I'd picture an older version of Narukami would be like."

"Yes," Rachel replied. "He does seem to be a rather intriguing character."

"He certainly made my journey interesting," Yumi replied. A sniffing noise caught her attention, prompting her to turn where she saw Merkava looming over her.

"You smell good," he said.

"Oh, thank you," Yumi said, petting Merkava's head. "My, what a majestic looking creature." Merkava seemed to enjoy the sensation of getting his head pat.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Weiss said. "You're not... freaked out by him?"

"Why would I be?" Yumi replied. "Such an impressive looking beast. I've not seen anything like this on my own world."

"So..." Saki said. "You just... rationalize his abnormal appearance by saying he's from another world?"

"Is that not understandable?" Yumi replied.

"Well," Weiss said, "I guess it is. I just wish some other people I knew were that intelligent," she added, looking to Yang, who merely stuck her tongue out at the heiress.

However, the blonde found something cold and wet slap her right on top of her head! Her vision was overtaken by white, brown, and pink as she groaned in discomfort! "Oh, what the actual hell!?" she said. "Who got this crap in my hair!?"

Everyone turned upward, where they saw the familiar petite form of Neo sitting on the scaffolding, dropping a now empty cone to the ground, as she licked a full neapolitan ice cream cone (HAHA). She jumped down to the ground, landing silently in front of the group, as she had one arm tucked behind her back.

"Oh great, it's Neo," Yang said, wiping the ice cream out of her hair.

"You know her?" Saki asked.

"She's Torchwick's toady," Weiss replied. "The question is, what she's doing here."

Neo finished her ice cream, eating the cone in a single crunch. She held up a finger, as she reached into her back pocket and held out a piece of paper. Ruby took it skeptically as she read the text on it, her eyes becoming wider and wider as she read!

"Oh you're kidding me!" she said. "You're a part of the tournament too!?" Neo merely held up a shrug, grinning confidently.

"What!? No!" Weiss said, taking the paper to read it over herself. Sure enough, Neo was a part of the tournament now. "Oh this is ridiculous!" she said.

"Uh... look on the bright side?" Saki asked.

"What is that bright side!?" Yang said, eyes red. "We hate this girl! She's a criminal! She nearly stabbed me!"

"Well," Saki said, "at least you have more Remnant representatives now...?" Yang sighed in exasperation.

"I guess that's the way it is," Ruby replied.

"Really Ruby?" Weiss asked. "You're just going to relent to this?"

"Well it's not like we can complain to management," Ruby said. "Besides, people like Gordeau, Carmine, or that scary Azrael guy are part of the tournament too. But just so you know, Ben & Jerry's," she said, pointing to Neo, who was still smiling perpetually. "We won't start any problems, so long as you behave yourself! Got it!?"

Neo merely nodded, before throwing her arms over Ruby's shoulders, grinning as her eyes flared pink and white. Ruby could only sigh.

"So she is not a friend of yours?" Yumi asked, Merkava having perched his head on top of the shinobi's own.

"Not remotely!" the others replied.

"Don't you worry now," Mitsuru said, putting a hand on Yang's shoulder. "If she is as problematic as you make her out to be, I can assure you we'll keep an eye on her." Neo's response was to merely smirk wickedly at Mitsuru, as if silently challenging the older woman.

Suddenly, a loud cry caught everyone's attention! "That sounded like Heart-chan," Mitsuru said.

"Uh... everyone?" Blake said. "Believe it or not, I think we have a bigger problem now than Neo."

The group collectively turned to see a blonde girl about the age range of Team RWBY and the Investigation Team standing behind Heart... and fondling her breasts! The pink haired Rare Maiden in question was redfaced and for one of the few times it's ever happened, looked utterly uncomfortable! And for good reason!

The majority of the group, even Neo, all were slack-jawed and awestruck by what they were witnessing!

"Heart-chan!" Chie said. "Who the heck is that!?" "And why the flying hell is she groping you!?" Kanji added.

"S-she said she was a friend of Yumi!" Heart replied. "She came over, we said 'hello' and then this happened!"

"Oh, hi!" the blonde girl said, finally releasing Heart! The pink haired girl positively crumpled to the ground in shame as the blonde stood triumphantly with her hands on her hips! That was when another bombshell dropped that left the rest of the group further astonished!

The blonde haired girl was wearing a simple dress shirt that she left totally unbuttoned, but with no bra underneath to hide her modesty! It was only the shirt itself that just barely covered anything upon her ample chest!

"Oh for heaven's sake!" Saki said. "Who in the world are you and what is your problem!?"

"My name is Katsuragi!" the blonde girl replied. "And when I heard that Yumi was in this tournament I knew that I had to show up too!"

"So you're not even a fighter?" Mitsuru asked.

"Not remotely," Katsuragi said. "But let me be the first to say that you are one tall drink of water anybody would be happy to enjoy!"

"Excuse me?" Mitsuru asked.

Katsuragi walked over to the other girls, who all seemed somewhat uncomfortable by her being so close now!

"Hey," Katsuragi said to Ruby, "what's your name?"

"Uh... Ruby Rose," the girl replied.

"And I'm Saki," the blue haired girl said. "And might I add, I am best friends with the girl who you just groped. So would you kindly explain to me as to why you did that?"

"Oh that?" Katsuragi replied, seeming totally oblivious as to the obvious sexual harrassment she just demonstrated! "Well nothing wrong with some good old fashioned fondling. After all, it lets you get to know a girl closer than just by talking!"

"That's still totally wrong!" Weiss said.

"Oh don't be like that," Katsuragi replied, shaking a hand. "We're all girls here. Besides, the female body is born to be admired and the breasts are pointless if they can't be enjoyed while a girl is in her prime!"

"You are out of your mind," Saki said, "and I feel I should speak for everyone when I say that you should leave now."

Katsuragi merely looked Saki in the face, blinking a few times. Then, in a blur of motion she appeared right behind Saki, grabbing her breasts!

Everyone seemed to shriek in terror at the motion, as Katsuragi continued to... enjoy herself. "See? Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"L-l-let me go you freaking lunatic!" Saki screamed, kicking Katsuragi backwards! Katsuragi merely laughed as she picked herself back up.

"Yang?" Ruby asked. "Is this what it's like to be in the presence of a sexual predator?"

"Yes Ruby," Yang replied, patting her sister's head. "Yes it is."

"I am afraid," Ruby said.

"We all are," the rest of Team RWBY said collectively.

"So, Mitsuru-senpai?" Weiss said. "Should we... remove this thing?"

Off in the corner, Ragna had been watching these exchanges with silent interest the entire time. Upon witnessing the lunacy that was Katsuragi, he pinched his eyes and let loose a breath. "Yare, yare daze," he muttered. "Just what I needed in this whole ordeal. A raging pervert."

"I apologize for this," Yumi said, having approached the Grim Reaper. "I feel partially responsible since she is from my world. Should I remove her?"

"At this rate, I don't think it'd be worth it," Ragna replied. "Now that she's here, with all these young girls around, I don't think it'd be physically responsible to remove her for good."

"Ooh, tomboy boobs?" Katsuragi's voice was heard, followed by Chie's terrified 'kyaaa!'

"How did she even get over here?" Yukiko asked curiously, watching as Katsuragi proceeded to fondle her best friend.

"Why are you asking that? Help me!" Chie said.

Ragna continued to shake his head. He perked up as he sat Akatsuki return, enjoying a soft pretzel that he got from nearby. "How did you even buy that?" Ragna asked. "Do they take the currency you use?"

Akatsuki, still chewing, gestured to Aigis, the Anti-Shadow Weapon offering a thumbs up. "Oh," Ragna said, "alright then."

Akatsuki looked really confused as he turned his gaze upward.

"Is everything alright Akatsuki-san?" Aigis asked.

"I feel I've forgotten something," Akatsuki replied. "Something vital."

The next moment, the wall nearby exploded as a large, tank-like object with a metal skull head crashed through! "Oh," Akatsuki said. "That's what it was. I forgot that the Blitztank was brought with me."

"What the fuck!?" Ragna said. "Where the fuck did that thing come from!?"

"The wall," Akatsuki replied.

"It stands to reason," Aigis said, "there were no doors large enough for it to enter."

"How the fuck are you so casual!?" Ragna said.

As this all went down, perched up on the scaffolding, Seth watched the exchange with an utterly baffled look. He had the sneaking suspicion that things were going to get even more hectic than they had already been.

* * *

_**A/N: And the last hiatus, sort of, has been put to a stop! You know, I am kind of entertained by how every time I am struggling for content on this story the game itself suddenly barks in my face with something crucial, as if telling me - HEY! Here you go!  
**_

_**So, yes, here we have Cross Tag Battle 2.0 with the reveal that the sixth franchise teased last time is none other than Senran Kagura (More specifically Senran Kagura Estival Versus) and even another one in the form of Akatsuki Blitzkampf! Truly this makes BBTAG one of the fiercest crossovers in recent days! Not as big as Smash Ultimate, though I daresay it's superior to Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite. Come at me bro!**_

_**So, for the context behind this chapter in regards to choices I made, I wanted to give every franchise, thus far, a presence. I could have added more Arcana Heart characters, but I wanted to mainly jump to the introduction of the new characters, so I made it namely just Heart and Saki.**_

_**The clothes that Team RWBY are wearing are their new outfits introduced in Vol. 7, which I shall note now, I like more than their previous clothes, but naturally their original outfits from the "Beacon Arc" still win out. I included them just for fun, cause' I do still like them. But obviously ignoring canon, I still had Blake wear her bow and Yang... you know, still with her... right arm.**_

_**Most of the other characters like Kanji, Rachel, Yukari, Vatista, they all just sort of fell into place because I felt the need to show them off a bit more than I had been. I mean, Yukari hadn't even appeared yet and I knew that I had to show her off at some point! She's the canon P3 waifu after all! COME AT ME BRO!**_

_***ahem!* Anyway, I did my best to portray the new arrivals as best I could. Neo was the easiest one, since she's the character I'm obviously most familiar with. I played up her relationship with Team RWBY a bit, and I know that in the near future I'll continue to have a lot of fun with her. She's the only other RWBY character we've gotten thus far outside of the main four girls so you can bet I'm gonna milk that for all it's worth!**_

_**As for Yumi and Akatsuki, thankfully they were fairly easy to get a grasp on. Yumi is described as being warm, kind, and almost motherly, so I was able to play that off easily. I particularly love the gag I threw in with Merkava, because the Void is just such a gem!**_

_**BTW, I don't even know how I came up with Yang just **_**carrying _him in there, it just happened! Also, I had a criminal lack of puns thus far, so I threw in as many as I could think of! Thank you Barbara Dunkelman pun compilations!_**

**_As for Akatsuki, from what I gathered off of him, he's almost kind of like Yu as a character. He's a bit of an alien that just does his own thing, but with a constantly hungry trope. So I just played off that too._**

**_And naturally, knowing that Akatsuki appeared as a guest character in Under Night: In-Birth, I knew that I had to throw Eltnum in there for funsies!_**

**_Also, in case anyone is confused as to why I threw in Katsuragi despite the fact that Yumi is the only Senran Kagura character revealed thus far, well that was part of a request by Neptunia56, and it was such a fun gag idea that I couldn't _not _put it in here. And yes... I can assure with... with the vast number of waifu bait that there is in this game from all the franchises that are included... you will see much... much more of that in the future. You have been warned._**

**_And besides, if the way I treat Arcana Heart and RWBY is anything to go off of, you know that I will throw in as many characters as I can find!_**

**_Speaking of extra characters, in case you're wondering who I theorize will get in BBTAG next in the near future, I'm not sure. While I can't vouch what the characters would actually be, understanding that we have four out of the nine upcoming characters for the Nov. 21st release date revealed (Hence, uh... h-hence the title of the chapter) with five left, I presume that we'll have two new Arcana Heart characters, two Senran Kagura characters, and one Akatsuki Blitzkampf character._**

**_Reasons why are, we can't just have Heart as the only Arcana Heart representative, especially with the latest version of Arcana Heart 3 coming out soon, with three new characters from there alone. And since we have two characters already announced for Akatsuki Blitzkampf breaking the mold, it'd only be reasonable that we'd get two from Senran Kagura and one more for Akatsuki._**

**_While I would love to see more RWBY fighters after Neo, I understand that they're the hardest to develop since they're the only franchise with no 2d fighter, thus they have to make everything there from scratch, and I honestly think we're good on Blazblue, Under Night, and P4A characters. They have some solid numbers, it's everyone else playing catch-up._**

_**As for some responses to people on previous chapters:**_

_**To both Vox12349 and Mystech Master, I appreciate the comments on some inconsistencies about Ragna's backstory I mentioned before. I tried to warn everyone ahead of time that I knew next to nothing about Blazblue since my attempts at researching it resulted in me bleeding out of my ears! XD In all seriousness, thank you very much for bringing up some of the issues and trying to help me get a better understanding.**_

_**And to Neptunia56, yes. The freakout moments from the gang in "The Forbidden Land" after their karaoke match were, in fact, references to Linkara's "Combine Harvester" freakouts from AT4W. I love those scenes so much and figured it would not be out of place whatsoever to have these characters in particular doing some of those.**_

_**Not much else to say here! This chapter just grew in a day out of necessity for the EVO reveal, so if there are any OOC actions in here, I apologize. But, I can assure you I'll be doing as much research as I can to properly portray any more characters I throw in here in the near future! **_

_**Last thing I got to say is some shameless plugging! Yes, recently I posted my second story: "The Ones Who Bump Back." For those of you that are fans of Ben 10, Percy Jackson, Danny Phantom, or just supernatural shows with monsters and magic in general, please check it out! It was one of the main reasons I took my time before posting a new chapter here. Pls? ^^**_


	23. Things're Gonna Get Freaky!

If there was one thing that Kokonoe Mercury would never surrender in, it was the pursuit of science. She would stop at nothing to continue her scientific endeavors, and not let anyone stand in her way. Which is why she held no qualms in transforming those that she deemed as 'annoyances' into test subjects for her experiments.

And it was precisely these reasons why Ragna the Bloodedge was not the least bit amused upon discovering that Kokonoe had called Yang and Ruby over to have them "help" with an experiemnt. Knowing how unsafe that could be with Kokonoe's lack of concern for humanity (or people in general,) Ragna made his way over to Kokonoe's lab to check on how the half-sisters were doing. And sure enough he saw... about what he expected to find.

"Jeez Ruby!" Ruby herself said. "I just realized how big your booty is! Man, all that running really paid off, huh?" she said, patting her own bottom!

"Yang, knock that off!" Yang herelf said, grabing Ruby's arms in an attempt to keep her from spanking herself! "My butt is not big! It's a perfectly sized Ruby booty! And like you have room to talk when you're, as has been said by Neon, 'top heavy'!" she said, gesturing to her ample chest!

"Hey!" Ruby said, pointing at Yang angrily! "We've talked about this! I'm sensitive about that!"

For those confused, Kokonoe possessed a machine that could allow her to people's souls. Ragna understood the situation, merely standing nearby rubbing his eyes. After he was able to recover, he shot Kokonoe a look as he put his hands in his pockets. "So let me get this straight," he said, "you decided to switch their souls."

"Yes I did," Kokonoe said simply. There was silence for a moment, as if Kokonoe presumed that the argument was over. Ragna on the other hand was not having it.

"May I ask why?" Ragna asked. "Like, why the hell you think switching the wonder twins was a great plan?"

"I believe I'm to blame," Akatsuki replied. He was standing to the other side of Kokonoe, arms behind him professionally. "I was investigating this world's military, and she mentioned that she had this device while giving me a tour. I asked if she could demonstrate for me and these were the two she selected."

"Yes," Kokonoe replied, "these two are half sisters, sharing the DNA of their father, (although it doesn't show on Ruby since she's the spitting image of her mother,) so they should have a high compatability rate. And with the unique aspects of their souls from unlocking their 'Aura' I was naturally curious about how they'd react."

"I must say, it was marginally successful. Yang had an impressive 72% compatability rate, while Ruby had a 53%." "Wonderful, they like each other," Ragna said. "Now can you cut the crap and put them back? This is weird enough already. Besides, if the other two kids know you did this to their leader, they will kill you."

"Glad to know you're concerned for me Ragna," Yang/Ruby said.

"Come on," Ragna said, "you know that it's the truth."

"Maybe," Yang/Ruby said. "But what can I say? I'm not really feelin' myself right now."

"Seriously Yang?" Ruby/Yang said. "Now I feel dirty having you say that using my mouth!"

"Very well," Kokonoe said, ignoring the shenanigans. "If it'll keep any more of those jokes from happening, I'll gladly put them back."

She activated the device, and in a flash of light, both Ruby and Yang began looking over themselves curiously. "Oh thank goodness!" Ruby said. "That was just weird!"

"Eh. I kinda liked it," Yang said, giving a shrug. "It felt nice."

"Okay now," Ragna said, "don't go doing that again kid. It's just not right."

Kokonoe remained stone faced, however, as she continued licking her lollipop, leaning a head against her hand. "No," she finally said. "I don't think I will."

"What was that?" Ragna asked threateningly.

"I have a new curiosity," Kokonoe said. "I want to see just how far a negative compatibility can go before the subjects are destroyed."

"What!?" Ragna said.

"Is this process not normal?" Akatsuki asked.

"No!" Ragna said. "It's just weird, no matter where you go! Now don't you dare-!"

The next moment, Kokonoe typed rapidly on the console, bringing a magic circle into the air! Everyone looked up in time to see two forms drop from it, crashing onto the ground! Then, both hyde and Carmine managed to stand, Carmine at the moment with his white hair as he was not using his EXS. Probably relaxing before getting whisked away.

"What the heck?" Hyde wondered. "What just happened?"

"Ow!" Carmine complained, holding his head as he got back to his feet. The two made eye contact, Carmine gritting his teeth. "The clownfish?" he said. "What the hell're you thinking bringing me here?"

"This wasn't me, you lobster, so drop it," Hyde replied.

"Hi Hyde!" Ruby said, waving cheerfully.

"Huh? Ruby?" Hyde asked. "What's going on?"

"Oh great," Carmine said. "The little flower girl. But I agree, just what the duece is-?"

Next moment, there was another bright flash of light! When it all died down, both Hyde and Carmine looked rather confused! "Gah! The hell!?" Hyde said, rubbing his eyes.

When he managed to look, he saw Carmine also recovering in front of him. He balked at the sight, stuttering and yelling, as he looked over his own body! Carmine looked equally fretful when he saw Hyde standing in front of him!

"W-what the heck!?" Carmine said. "What is this!?'

"The actual fuck!?" Hyde added. "Why the hell am I in the clownfishs's body!? And is that him in mine!?"

"I... I think so," Carmine replied. "But I do have to ask... why?"

"Well," Kokonoe said, "this _is _a low compatability indeed. Hyde is a striking 21% while Carmine is an abysmal 10."

"Is that dangerous?" Akatsuki asked.

"Not entirely," Kokonoe replied. "They don't seem harmed."

"Gah! This is wrong!" Ruby said. "Put em' back!"

"I have to agree," Yang added. "It's just wrong looking at Carmine in Hyde's body."

"Oh thanks!" Carmine/Hyde said.

But Kokonoe did not. Instead, she activated the machine again and created another magic circle, summoning two more people! Next thing, Yosuke and Weiss dropped down!

"Ow! I think I broke my ass!" Yosuke said, struggling to his feet.

"Oh, hey Yokee," Yang greeted, using Heart's nickname for the Prince of Junes. "What brings you here?"

"Seriously?" Ragna asked her.

"What?" Yang replied. "It was a joke! Jeez, you have no sense of humour."

"Wait, Yang? Ruby?" Yosuke said. "What the heck's going on? Where am I?"

Weiss stood next, rubbing her head, before she straightened her outfit out. "I would like to know that too," she said.

"Oh, Weiss!" Ruby said. "You're here too?"

"I am now," Weiss replied. "So what's going on?" Next thing, the flash of light hit again!

"W-what?" Yosuke said. "What was that? Wait... why does my voice sound different? And... what happened to my clothes?"

"Dude, where did the draft come from?" Weiss said. She and Yosuke looked to one another, where they both turned white as sheets! They gasped in shock as they simultaneously pointed to one another!

"What is this!?" Weiss/Yosuke said. "Why am I in your body!?"

"How the hell should I know!?" Yosuke/Weiss replied.

"Oh this is awful!" Weiss/Yosuke said. "I can't actually be in a _boy's _body! Let alone _your _body! Oh, what would my family think!?"

"Like I'm any happier!" Yosuke/Weiss replied. "I am not eactly a fan of being in your tiny body, Ice Queen!"

Carmine/Hyde was snickering happily nearby as he watched the exchange go down. "Okay," he said, "this kinda makes everything worth it."

"Oh boy," Ruby said, aiming her gaze at the ground, "why did she have to switch these two? That's just begging for trouble."

Yang herself was stifling giggles, although her better nature was telling her that it was wrong to laugh at her friend and teammate's distress. "J-just calm down you guys," she said. "It isn't permanent."

"Yikes," Kokonoe said. "They're not much better than Carmine and Hyde."

"Okay, this is just idiotic," Ragna said. "Will you cut it out and put everyone back?" Kokonoe continued typing on the console, before another flash of white overtook their vision!

Ragna recovered from that encounter, shaking his head to help his vision return. "Hey, you alright?" Hyde/Carmine asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Ragna replied. He looked in Hyde/Carmine's direction, before realizing something odd as he saw found himself looking up at Carmine's body. "Hey, when did you get taller?" Ragna asked, also discovering his voice sounded different. Like... way different. Really, really high pitched.

Finally, Ragna looked down at himself and found that he was not in fact looking down at himself! But rather, he was now in Ruby's body! "Kokonoe!" Ragna/Ruby yelled. "Let me outta here!"

Ruby, meanwhile, in Ragna's body was freaking out! "What? how? I-... I'm in a man's body...?" she struggled to say.

"Oh no, Ruby!" Yang said. "A-are you okay, sis?"

"Y-yeah..." Ruby/Ragna replied. "Actually... yeah! I feel strong! Gosh, is this what it's like being Uncle Qrow? It feels awesome!"

"Well nice to see somebody's enjoying this," Ragna/Ruby replied.

Ruby/Ragna unsheathed Ragna's weapon Aramasa, aka "Bloodscythe", and began swinging it around happily! "Man, it's weird using a sword," Ruby/Ragna said, "how did you transcform it into its scythe form?"

"She would find a silver lining even in this," Weiss/Yosuke said.

"That's how Ruby rolls," Hyde/Carmine said with a shrug.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Ragna/Ruby said. "Take it easy with that!"

"Okay Koko," Yang said, "can we wrap this up now? Y'know, I would rather my sister stay in her gender."

"Why did you switch them?" Akatsuki asked.

"If he was going to continue bothering me," Kokonoe replied, "he may as well aid in my testing. And as for you, Yang, I am now in the thick of things. Would you care for another swap, yourself?"

Yang stayed still, looking at Kokonoe with a stoic mien. Finally, she shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

"What?!" positively everyone, even Carmine/Hyde said.

"Good," Kokonoe said. "Let's see..."

Next thing, another magic circle appeared overhead! Only a single person fell out this time, proceeding to land right on top of Hyde/Carmine! When the dust settled it was revealed to be Katsuragi, who blinked a few times as she smiled down at the mismatched In-Birth.

"Hey, where did you come from?" she asked.

"Well," Hyde/Carmine replied, "it'd be more accurate to ask that to you. Since you landed on me."

Katsuragi helped Hyde/Carmine sit up, but continued sitting on his lap, as she rubbed his neck seductively! "Boy," she said, "I'ma sucker for an albino!"

"Uh... what?" Hyde/Carmine asked, face flushing a bit.

"Hey," Katsuragi said, giggling a bit, "you're kinda cute when you blush!" At this point, she was practically drooling!

"Yo, thunder tits!" Carmine/Hyde said. "Hands off the merchandise! That's my body you're touching there!"

Katsuragi looked at him with a curious look, a slight tilt in her head. "Oh, are you two a couple?" she asked. "...You wanna threesome?"

"Fuck no!" Carmine/Hyde said, Hyde/Carmine punctuating with his own, "No!"

"To which one?" Katsuragi asked.

"Both of them!" the In-Births yelled.

"Wait, wait, wait," Yang said, shaking her hands. "Koko, don't swap me with the raging-!"

Too late. The white light returned and both blondes ended up in the other's body. Yang blinked as she found herself sitting on Hyde/Carmine's lap. "Goddammit," she said.

"Ooh!" Katsuragi/Yang said, looking down at herself (well, not really herself, but Yang's self, she was just in... you get the idea).

"Hey Yang!" Katsuragi/Yang said, looking down at Yang/Katsuragi as she helped Hyde/Carmine stand up. "I always thought we were alike, but now we're even closer!" She promptly planted her hands onto her chest, and began massaging slowly. "Ooh~" she said. "These are even better than I could've thought. A bit smaller than mine, but still~"

Pretty much all guy's in the room, save for Ragna, had their noses explode in a shower of blood as they all fell flat on their backs, even Yosuke in Weiss's body! Yang/Katsuragi growled like a wild animal as she proceeded to pounce on Katsuragi/Yang and grab her by the wrists! "Hands off, wouldja!" she yelled. If she were back in her own body, her eyes would be bright red and her hair would be totally ablaze!

"Oh, come on!" Katsuragi/Yang said, honestly rolling her eyes. "Y'know, I'm not opposed to you doing the same to my body! I mean, we're all gorgeous, y'know!"

Next thing Yang knew, Katsuragi was gone! She heard Weiss and Carmine yelp in shock! Yang turned to see that Katsuragi had appeared behind the guys (well, girl in Weiss's case) and grabbed their asses! "I mean," she said, "whoever said I was limited only to girls, right?"

"Boy, you're both firm. Wonder what the front feels like?"

"D-don't you fuckin' dare!" Carmine/Hyde said. "Actually, I'm half tempted to kill you now!" He punctuated by spinning around and decking Katsuragi/Yang right in the face!

"I... I'm not a guy..." Weiss/Yosuke said, appearing totally despaired. "God, please tell me this is all a terrible nightmare!"

"You're telling me," Carmine/Hyde said. "Also, goddamn! Is your face made outta concrete, you shitty blonde!? That fucking hurt my fist!"

Another magic circle appeared over head, as two more figures dropped in! "Oh great," Ragna/Ruby said. "Now what?"

Rachel was the first to stand, shaking her head in surprise. "Oh my," she said. "Where am I?"

"Oh, now the rabbit?" Ragna/Ruby asked.

"Hm?" Rachel said. "Since when did you start calling me that? Did that dog truly begin influencing you, you poor child?"

"Not him!" Ragna/Ruby said. "I'm over here!"

Before Rachel could wonder, what they meant, the white light appeared and she looked at herself confused. She didn't say anything however, despite the astonished look on her face!

"Wait, who did she switch with?" Yosuke/Weiss asked, still cleaning his (her?) nose from that shower of blood. The group looked around, before seeing the new figure standing nearby: Neo.

Rachel in Neo's body tried to speak, but found she could not! She waved her arms around in a vain attempt to speak, but since Neo was a mute, nothing came out! Neo in Rachel's body on the other hand, giggled in delight! She spun around, seeming to admire Rachel's dress.

"Well," Carmine/Hyde said. "Seems harmless enough."

"Knowing Neo," Yang/Katsuragi said, "just give it time."

Neo/Rachel pulled down on her eye as she also stuck her tongue out. The mismatched blonde stuck her own tongue out in irritation.

"Come on, Yang," Weiss/Yosuke said, "keep it cool."

"Your one to talk," Yang/Katsuragi replied, "when you've been having a panic attack the past five minutes... Sorry, that was insensitive."

"It's okay," Weiss/Yosuke replied. "I've come to accept my situation... for as vile as it is, and am merely waiting until things are restored to normal."

"When will that be?" Hyde/Carmine asked.

"Preferably soon," Weiss/Yosuke replied.

These two turned out to be Yukiko and one of the shinobi from Katsu's world, Ikaruga.

"Oh, hey Ikaruga!" Katsuragi/Yang said.

"Oh... hello," Ikaruga said. "I'm not that familiar with your name yet, forgive me. What was it?"

"Ikaruga, it's Katsuragi!" Katsuragi/Yang replied, pointing to herself. "I'm currently occupying this blonde bombshell's bod right now!"

"Okay I'll admit," Yang/Katsuragi replied, "that was some good eliteration."

"Katsuragi?" Ikaruga asked, looking between Yang and the shinobi in question. "How did this happen?"

"Yosuke?" Yukiko asked. "What are we doing here? What's going on?"

"Yukiko," Yosuke/Weiss said, "you gotta help! Weiss and I switched bodies and it's agony!"

Yukiko looked between Weiss and Yosuke with a curious look. "So you mean to tell me..." she said. "That Yosuke is in... your body," she said, gesturing to Weiss's body, "and this is Weiss... in Yosuke's body?" she added, looking now to Yosuke's body.

"Yes!" both heiress and prince said! Yukiko was still for a moment, before she collapsed into a laughing fit!

"Yukiko!" Weiss/Yosuke said. "It isn't funny! It's horrifying!"

"I-I'm sorry!" Yukiko said. "B-but this is so great! You two don't like each other and now you're stuck together!"

You know the drill. White light. Now both Ikaruga and Yukiko looked rather confused.

"Oh dear," Yukiko/Ikaruga said, as she looked over hersef. "Is this... is this me?"

"N-no..." Ikaruga/Yukiko said. "I think... it's me."

Yukiko/Ikaruga looked back and forth as she seemed to come to grips with the situation. Then, she tilted her head as she continued looking down at her newly acquired body. "Well..." she said. "At least I've received... assets."

Next moment, Katsuragi/Yang seemed to take that as a cue and leapt for Yukiko/Ikaruga's chest! "You're damn straight!" she said. "Ooh, I've always liked Ikaruga's lucious pair of TATAS!"

Yukiko/Ikaruga spluttered and gasped in shock, as Ikaruga/Yukiko stamped her foot down! "Katsuragi!" she yelled. "Now is not the time for that! Now unhand Yukiko... and my body!"

Katsuragi/Yang looked at Ikaruga/Yukiko, before pouncing for her next, planting both hands on her chest! "Well, not as impressive," she noted, as Ikaruga/Yukiko yelped in shock, "but not half bad either. Makes for a good squeeze!"

That did it, Yang/Katsuragi decked her right upside the head, planting her face first on the ground! "Don't even care if that leaves a permanent mark on my head, I ain't having any o' that shit in my body!"

"Uh... Yukiko?" Yosuke/Weiss asked. "Are you okay?"

"Violated from all sides," Yukiko/Ikaruga said sadly.

"You get used to it with Katsuragi," Ikaruga/Yukiko replied.

Two more people slammed down from above, a familiar voice yelling, "ow! My tail!" as they fell.

"Okay this is just dumb," Ragna/Ruby said. "How many more people are gonna drop down here!?"

Blake struggled to stand, Makoto hanging onto her to stabelize herself as she was risen to her feet! The Faunus and the Beastkin looked at each other curiously, before their eyes fell upon everyone else.

"What the-?" Blake started, before the light hit and she and Makoto got swapped! Now, still in their same positions, the two were even more befuddled upon their bodies getting switched, jumping back in fear and confusion!

"What the-!? How the heck!?" Blake said in Makoto's voice, causing her to grip her throat in surprise!

"What da duece is dis'?" Makoto/Blake asked. "How da' heck did I get in here?"

"Agh!" Blake/Makoto said, feeling her newly obtained tail. "Wow... no offense Makoto, but this feels weird."

"Well it wasn't weird for me," Makoto/Blake replied.

Blake/Makoto caught sight of the rest of her team, eyes widening. "Guys," she said, "what the heck is happening?"

"Uh... Blake?" Ruby/Ragna said. "This is gonna be a little hard to take in but... I'm Ruby."

"Yeah," Yang/Katsuragi said. "And I'm Yang. And Yosuke over there is actually Weiss," she gestured to the heiress in question, stuck in the body of Captain Resentment.

Blake/Makoto's eye twitched in utter revulsion... "What the fu-" Next minute, Mai was dropped from the sky and crashed on top of Blake/Makoto! A second individual had fallen next to them, but landed expertly on the ground, standing back up to show that it was Yu Narukami.

"Yosuke?" he asked, looking at Weiss/Yosuke. "What's up?"

"N-Narukami..." Yosuke/Weiss said. "I'm Yosuke."

"And I'm Weiss," Weiss/Yosuke replied.

Yu blinked a few times, before he fought off a snicker.

"Okay, what the hell!?" Yosuke/Weiss said. "Why does everybody find that funny!?"

"Because it is?" Yu replied. The white light hit next, with Yu shaking his head, before looking down at himself, tugging on his jacket. "Wait a minute," he said. He turned over to find Mai looking down at her chest in shock! "Holy shit..." she said quietly.

"Uh... Mai?" Weiss/Yosuke asked. "Is that you in there?"

"Yeah," Mai/Yu replied. "Yeah, it's me. Care to explain how this is happening?"

"Sure thing," Weiss/Yosuke replied. "I can imagine you're as horrified as I was to first find myself in a man's body."

"Still not a walk in the park for me either, Ice Queen!" Yosuke/Weiss added.

"Uh... I think I'll manage," Mai/Yu replied, thinking silently, _It's actually feeling pretty weird being in a boy's body again._

"Okay, kid," Ragna/Ruby said, "I'm starting to think that you really don't have a legitimate reason to be switching half of these people! Can you put it to a rest alread-"

Blake/Makoto's tail smacked him in the face the next moment. Ragna/Ruby got in a fight with the limb, as Blake/Makoto stood awkwardly beside him! "Uh... sorry, Ragna," she said.

"He does have a point," Weiss/Yosuke said. "Can you please just put this to rest already! I am not a fan of being in a boy's body anymore!"

"Honestly by this point," Ruby/Ragna said, "I have completely lost track of whoever is supposed to be who!"

Next moment, Mai was heard yelling an exclamation! They all turned to see Yu/Mai getting fondled by Katsuragi/Yang! "Wow!" she said. "You've got a serious rack on ya! I have yet to find such a luscious pair outside of people from my clique!"

"What the hell!?" Carmine/Hyde said. "I thought that Yang knocked her out!"

"Fine," Kokonoe said. "It's getting a little crowded in here anyhow. Anybody that doesn't need to be here, scram!"

* * *

Suffice is to say, things didn't exactly turn out much better for everybody, even if Kokonoe was tolerating the idea of putting everybody back where they belonged. Ragna made her vow to cease her experimentation as she put everyone back to normal, but naturally, she did not. She just kept going... and going... and going...

"Is... this actually what it feels like being in a human's body?" Labrys asked, having been put in Heart's body.

"This! Is! Amazing!" Heart cheered in delight, being in Labrys's body, using her axe as a jetpack!

"Heart, please calm down," Kamui said calmly. She had ended up in Mai's body, while Yu's soul ended up getting placed into hers.

"Well," Yu said calmly from Kamui's body, "never thought I would end up in more than one girl's body today."

"Did you intend for that to be an inuendo?" Katsuragi asked.

"I'm just assuming everything's an inuendo to you!" Yang said.

"I will neither confirm nor deny that," Katsuragi replied.

"EEE!" Kanji, who had gotten put into Taokaka's body of all people, was rolling around the ground in delight, hugging onto his body tightly! "So fluffy!"

"Hey, meow!" Taokaka/Kanji said. "Cool it, meow! Tao is not a dog that's meant to be rolling around!"

Next moment, Scharlachrot and Noel dropped in, both hitting the ground in the center of the ever growing crowd!

"Ow! Duh fuck!?" Scharlachrot asked.

"Uh-oh," Yukiko said. "Please, don't swap Noel with her! She's too violent!"

"Who ever said I was?" Kokonoe replied.

"Why do you reply to her," Ragna asked, "but you continue to ignore me!?"

The white light hit, and Noel was looking at herself, but Scharlachrot appeared unaffected. "Wow," Noel said, "this body is warmer than that pink haired kid's."

"Wait, Labrys?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah, that's her!" Heart's body replied, waving over to them. "And... Noel is over here!"

"Why did you do that?" Blake asked.

"Was worth investigating, no?" Kokonoe asked. "One technological, artificial lifeform put in the body of an organic, artificial lifeform."

"I must admit," Akatsuki said. "This experiment is proving quite interesting. The differing reactions of the individuals is enough of a sight to behold. But I will say that it appears to lack... coherency."

"Coherency?" Kokonoe asked.

"Yes," Akatsuki replied. "You started by seeing the lowest possible compatibility without running risk to the people involved. Yet now you seem to be... running amok."

"Really!?" Ragna said. "What was your first clue?!"

"Well," Kokonoe replied. "While this may look like nonsensical swapping to the uninitiated, but I've actually been taking notes on every switch. Seeing just what factors could account for a higher or lower compatibility between individuals. Things like physical appearance, species, even personality traits, and putting them all into a detailed graph. Like this one."

Scharlachrot, who hadn't moved from her spot until she got an explanation, found herself having to dodge around the new arrival! With a moan of discomfort, the figure rose from the ground, dusting himself off. It turned out to be a sight that caused Ragna's heart to nearly stop, as it turned out to be Jin, his brother.

"Fuck me sideways," Ragna muttered.

"Brother... Is that you...?" Jin asked slowly.

"Wait, Ragna's brother?" Heart/Labrys asked. "I've heard of him."

"Yeah, doesn't he work with Noel, Makoto, and Mai?" Yang asked.

"If that's so," Ikaruga added, "why do all of them look so... nervous?"

"BROTHER! LET US DIE TOGETHER!" Jin said like a freaking lunatic! All the girls jumped in the air, mortified by what they just heard him yell!

"Change him into something!" Ragna said. "I don't care what! Just change him into something more manageable!"

The light hit, and Jin's body screeched to a halt, nearly falling into Ragna! The Hero of the Frozen Blade came to a stop, looking over himself awkwardly. Face flushing in a moment's notice! "This..." he said. "This is a man's body...?"

"Wait, who is that?" Ragna asked. Jin looked at him, face conveying a sense of fear and innocence that he'd never seen. "Yukiko," Jin replied.

Everyone jumped once again as they now knew that the Unconquerable Snow Black was now stuck in Jin's body! "Wait..." Katsuragi said. "If she's there, where's her dainty, squishy body?" "Why'd you call it that!?" Yukiko/Jin said, sounding offended.

"BROTHER!" Yukiko's voice said. Ragna held up a hand in time to grab Yukiko's body by the back of her shirt collar, effortlessly holding her in the air. "Brother! Brother! Brother!" Jin/Yukiko said in delight. "Please-please-please-please-please-please, let us die together!"

"What the funken wagnal is wrong with him!?" Hyde said.

"Too many things to count," Ragna replied, holding Jin/Yukiko under his arm like a sack of potatoes.

"So..." Scharlachrot said. "Not that this stupidity isn't entertaining, but what the hell am I here for?"

"Oh yeah," Hyde said, "you still haven't gotten swapped yet."

Kokonoe activated the device, the white light coming through! Scharlachrot then began looking over herself.

"Looks like you spoke too soon," Yang added.

Scharlachrot then started throwing another tantrum! "Oh what the hell!?" she said. "First the clownfish, and then you gotta throw me in a girl's body! Duh fuck!? Gah! I should've left when I had the chance!"

"Wait... lobster's in there?" Ruby asked. "Then, Scharlachrot is..."

Hysterical laughter was heard by all that caused everyone to nearly drop to the ground in fear, as they saw Carmine's body strolling over threateningly, EXS activating and dousing his body in red! "Oh, this is so fucking funny!" Scharlachrot/Carmine said. "Now you're gonna put me back... or else... I'll rip out your heart and bite off your neck!"

"Shit!" Ragna said. "Somebody stop her! I'm stuck holding this thing!" he gestured to Jin/Yukiko, who seemed to just be enjoying the prospects of being held by his brother, body trembling in delight, wearing a goofy smile!

Hyde and Yu(still in Kamui's body) ran over and held Scharlachrot/Carmine back! "Change them back! Change them back now!" they both yelled.

Nearby, Kanji/Taokaka watched with a frightened expression, holding a paw to his(her) mouth. "Kitty's scared..." he said. "Kitty's gonna slink away now..."

"Yikes!" Ruby said. "Kanji's personality broke!"

Kokonoe sighed as she put Scharlachrot and Carmine back to their respective bodies. "Oh thank God!" Hyde said, releasing the bloody In-Birth. "That was too close for comfort."

"LIKE THAT'S HONESTLY GOING TO STOP ME!" Scharlachrot yelled.

"Oh for the love of me!" Weiss said, smacking her in the back of the head with Myrtenaster!

"Oh, thanks Weiss," Yu/Kamui said.

"Yeah. Fine. All good," Weiss said. "But there's still one major problem that must be addressed."

"Which is?" Blake asked, looking up from her book, as Heart/Labrys continued stroking her ears.

"The fact that," Weiss replied, her voice raising in octaves as she continued, "Yosuke and I are still stuck in each other's bodies!"

Yeah, sure enough, it wasn't just Yu and Mai that Kokonoe failed to return to normal. Yosuke and Weiss were still swapped, and have yet to be restored.

"Oh?" Kokonoe said. "Did I forget to restore you?"

"Yes!" Weiss/Yosuke said. "You did!"

"Now," Yosuke/Weiss added, "if you wouldn't mind... PUT US BACK ALREADY!" he yelled in tandem with Weiss.

"Please Kokonoe?" Ruby asked. "She's my BFF, and Yosuke is one of my best friends too." "Oh, thanks Rubes," Yosuke/Weiss said.

"Yeah, no prob," Ruby replied, giving him a thumbs up. "So... please put them back?"

Even Kokonoe couldn't help but feel a little touched by Ruby's polite request. "Fine," she said. "I think I've had enough work for today at any rate."

"Thank you!" Ruby said, bowing politely.

Kokonoe typed on the console rapidly as Akatsuki looked at her with a tilted head. "Really?" he asked. "We're done?"

"Yes we are!" Ragna yelled, grabbing Akatsuki's mouth with his free hand and glaring him straight in the eye as the Black Beast's aura flared through his body! "Now don't you even dare make her continue with this crap, or else I'm going to send you to a world of despair!"

Kokonoe finished typing on the console, before she gained a confused look. "Uh-oh," she said.

"Uh-oh?" Weiss/Yosuke asked. "What do you mean, 'uh-oh'? That does not bode well for us. So care to elaborate on what you mean by 'uh-oh'?"

"It appears," Kokonoe said, "that some of our subjects have left the facility. I cannot change everyone back at once until they return."

"Well then just change us back!" Yosuke/Weiss said.

"Well," Kokonoe replied, "I was hoping to be more efficient by changing you all at once."

"Well who's missing?" Ragna asked.

* * *

Outside, Labrys was running around as if she were a princess from some movie, dancing in delight as she ran! The sensation of being in a living body was awesome! The race of her heart, the feeling of air on her skin, and her lungs taking in air and blowing it back out the more she ran! It was awesome!

"I'm sure Noel won't be too upset by me going for a joy ride," she said. "Just long enough to let me enjoy myself!"

* * *

Kamui was also taking a body that did not belong to her for a test run. Being a time displaced individual, she was not used to the feelings of being alive like anybody else. She was honestly fairly touched by the sensations that it came with, being in Mai's body.

She knew she would have to return eventually. But she at least wanted to spend some time to herself. Just a chance, to be like anyone else. Like... her friends.

* * *

"Well get them back!" Yosuke and Weiss yelled.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" Ruby said. "We'll find them!"

"Y-yeah!" Hyde said. "Everyone just relax."

"Well..." Yu/Kamui said. "Looks like I'm stuck here for awhile longer."

"Yeah," Mai/Yu said. "Well... can't say that this is the biggest hassle."

Noel looked down at Heart's body, rocking on the balls of her heels. "Uh..." she said. "I mean, I would like my body back soon."

"I feel fine!" Labrys said.

"Of course you do, commander," Scharlachrot said.

The door to the laboratory was opened the next moment. At first, everyone had the hope that it was either Labrys or Kamui returning, only for it to be revealed as Yumi walking in with a bluish-gray haired boy wearing a professional suit uniform. "And this," she said, "is the laboratory belonging to Kokonoe, a scientist and daughter of Jubei of the Six Heroes."

"Fascinating," the boy said.

"Who the duece is this?" Ragna asked.

"Oh, hello Ragna," Yumi replied. "Sorry to disturb you all, I was just showing this boy around. While I was talking with Orie, he bumped into us and I offered to try my knowledge of this world by showing him about. He belongs to the Licht Kries."

"Lovely to meet you all," the boy replied. "My name is Londrekia. I hope to get to know you all soon."

"Huh," Ruby said. "Do you know him, Hyde?"

"Nope," Hyde replied. "He's new to me."

"Looks a bit like a smaller Jin," Yang said. She suddenly felt a threatening presence beside her and looked to see Katsuragi drooling as her hands were clenching over and over. Yang rolled her eyes as she jammed her fingers into the shinobi's throat, causing her to gag and crumple to the ground. "How did _I_ of all people become a babysitter?" she asked.

"I think it'd be good to get to know this boy, right Weiss?" Blake asked. She got no reply, causing her to raise an eyebrow. "Weiss?" she asked. She looked beside her, catching Yosuke's face having heated up immensely as Weiss on the inside found herself unable to break her gaze away from the boy of the Licht Kries!

"Uh... W-Weiss...?" Blake asked. Still the Snow Heiress in the Prince of Junes's body was unable to reply! "Oh gosh!" Ruby said. "Weiss broke! It finally happened!"

Inside, Weiss was going through an episode as she continued looking at Londrekia as others like Ikaruga and Hyde introduced themselves to him. _He... He's... perfect... _she thought to herself. _Such a picture of pure beauty. That professional uniform, the way he carries himself, how he speaks... it all screams everything that I have longed for in a boy!_

As if on cue, Londrekia looked over at Weiss, smiling to her as he held out a hand. "Lovely to meet you," he said. "What's your name?"

"O-oh," Weiss/Yosuke replied. "M-my name is-" She cut herself off, having heard the voice of Yosuke speaking for her. Coming back to reality she looked down at herself, reminding her of her current stance as she saw the Yasogami High uniform taunting her in her state.

_That's right... _she thought. _I'm still stuck in Yosuke's body. I meet the perfect boy and I'm stuck in a boy's body! Oh, life isn't fair! Labrys! Kamui! Get back here!_

Londrekia was a bit thrown off as Yosuke was looking down at himself with a hateful smile, not replying to him whatsoever. "Uh..." he said. "Is everything okay?"

"D-don't worry about he-him!" Ruby said, she and the rest of Team RWBY ushering him away. "I-it's been a long day!"

And what could Ragna the Bloodedge say, looking at this newly found ridiculousness as he continued to carry his trembling younger brother in the body of the Japanese high-schooler under his arm? "Yare, yare, daze."

* * *

_Epilogue_:

Later that day, one Relius Clover looked over the data that had been collected by Kokonoe, typing it into his own data files to save for himself. He couldn't help but smile devilishly as he knew that this data would help him greatly in his further studies. Things like Aura, EXS, shinobi summons, Persona, Arcana, all of it was now subject to his experimentation with this information at his disposal.

"I truly must repay that Beastkin in the future," he said. "Now with this data, no child will be able to stop me now. No Huntress, or shinobi, or In-Birth. Yes... so many of them are children, and that is the only part that I've yet to understand. Still, it doesn't matter. Only their powers are of any concern to me, and now I have a map laid out for me to tell me how it can be countered."

As he continued to monologue to himself, a knife suddenly whizzed past his head, smashing into his computer monitor! He was taken aback, feeling his cheek as he felt a cut had formed, blood starting to pour out of it! He spun around in his chair in time for a sword blade to connect with his neck, enough to start drawing blood there as well!

He looked up as a familiar, pink haired individual grabbed the top of his head, glaring daggers at him with dark pink eyes. At first, Relius was under the impression that it was Heart Aino, but there was something off about her. Her hair was longer, much longer, and her clothes were wrong. The girl typically wore a bright sailor outfit that was her school's uniform, but this one was wearing dark clothes with a hat that nearly obscured her eyes. Being... well, who he was, Relius was familiar with the concept of clones or replicas, so this was nothing of any real surprise to him.

"You're not Heart Aino, are you?" he said, more as a statement than a question. The girl did not reply. "Well," Relius said, "I must say that I am intrigued to meet you. So allow me to ask, what shall I call you?"

The girl narrowed her eyes, as she proceeded to slide her blade across his neck, causing more blood to be drawn! "Dark Heart," she replied.

"Very well," Relius said, struggling to speak a bit due to the damage to his neck, but still not conveying any fear. "So tell me, 'Dark Heart', what can I do for you?"

"You studied souls," Dark Heart said. "So I want you to give me the information you have found."

"I would be happy to," Relius replied. "But I have to ask, why do you want it?"

Dark Heart did not reply at first. However, she finally took her blade away, but still pointed it at him. "I have a vendetta," she said. "And I intend to finish it as soon as I can. And in order to do that, I will need the information you have on one Heart Aino."

"I figured as such," Relius replied. He burnt the information on a disk, which he handed over to Dark Heart, who took it quickly. She put it in a nearby computer, just to ensure that he gave her what she was asking for. "You're in luck," she said. "I have what I need."

She took the dagger she had tossed out of Relius's monitor, before turning on her way. "Tell me," Relius said, still acting casually, "what vendetta do you have with Heart?"

Dark Heart stopped in place, but did not reply. She did not even look back at Relius. She merely continued on her way, out the door. Relius just released a chuckle. "Another day, then."

* * *

_**A/N: This one certainly ballooned out of control! Yes, this was an older request by Neptunia56 to reuse the soul switching machine Kokonoe used in the Relius Clover gag reel! **_

_**The reason why it ballooned the way I claim is the fact that, obviously, I had a LOT of body swaps that I wanted to show and did not really know how to properly handle it. So in the end I just decided to switch the initial characters back (save for Weiss and Yosuke and Yu and Mai) before skipping ahead to the others. **_

_**Since I didn't know what to do exactly with Akatsuki, or was that familiar with the other characters, I decided to just have him casually watch as Kokonoe continued with her "experiments." The reason I say that is because I, unfortunately, have yet to find any proper source to study on Akatsuki Blitzcampf or Akatsuki Ein Einz in order to gauge the other characters. Everything I've found is totally in Japanese. If anybody can point me to a new resource, please let me know, as I would greatly appreciate it!**_

_**I also stuck in some other characters! The first is Londrekia, the newest character for Under Night In-Birth, teased in the trailer for the game's latest version, Under Night In-Birth Exe: Late[cl-r]! And I knew the moment I saw him that he would be the ideal husbando for Weiss! His look, his attitude, even his EXS is ice based! **_

_**I know that I had teased a potential Yu and Weiss pairing in the past, but that's only because I had no clue who else to potentially ship her with, so I just went with my gut. However, I now think that Londrekia could at least be a new option. In the event I ship Weiss with Londrekia, I know that Yu Narukami gives off some pheromones that attract women, so anything Weiss could have felt can be scientifically proven.**_

_**Last note is on Dark Heart. I threw her in because... I dunno, I just like the character. Even if we don't really know anything about her, like her backstory, I still felt the need to throw her in the epilogue with Relius himself, who I also included in because he was naturally the method behind the madness last time.**_

_**Final note I'll make is that allegedly the next five DLC fighters for BBTAG to coincide with Yumi, Akatsuki, and Blitztank's release in the game are (again, allegedly) two fighters from Blazblue, two fighters from P4AU, and one fighter from Arcana Heart.**_

_**I have to say, I am a bit bummed out by this. While Blazblue certainly does not have a shortage of fighters to sort through, and P4AU has more than I had initially presumed, plus Heart is the only fighter from Arcana Heart thus far, so they definitely need more, I kinda preferred my initial assumption.**_

_**For those that don't recall, I was under the impression that the next five fighters would be one Akatsuki Blitzcampf fighter, two Arcana Heart fighters, and two Senran Kagura fighters. I dunno, I just felt this would help things round out better. But, who knows? Again, this is a rumour by this point, so there's nothing I've found at least to support it.**_

_**All the same, thank you all so much for reading, as always, keep the suggestions rolling, and have yourselves a fantastic rest of your day! I'll see you all next time!**_


	24. No Bow, No Shame No Mask, No Confidence

While Team RWBY had regular training exercises, sometimes having their friends accompany them for help. It often turns out to be a fairly enjoyable experience for all parties present, including Blake. But sometimes, the Fanus in question just needs time alone to train to herself. To focus on her own skill.

It could sometimes be a very troubling experience for the young Faunus, trying to do what she can to support her team, who had effectively become her family. She never intended to get attached to them, to see them as the close friends and part of her life that she did now. She couldn't allow herself to become attached, like she did with the White Fang.

The White Fang had turned against her, pursuing beliefs that she never agreed to. Sienna, Illia... Adam, they all began pursuing something that Blake had never wanted to. Blake wanted peace, the White Fang wanted war. So she ultimately turned away from the group that had effectively been like a second family to her, with all the hurt it brought.

But now with Team RWBY, she didn't want to become attached because she feared what would happen to them if the White Fang found her and decided to punish her because of her "betrayal", not to mention it'd be easier to leave them behind after graduation. But of course, that didn't pan out. Now Team RWBY were among her closest friends and allies, so she had to make sure that she could protect them when the time came.

Blake was sitting on her knees in the middle of the grassy landscape that made up Beacon Academy's campus, in front of a tree. Her eyes were shut, just feeling the wind playing with her hair and tugging at her bow. Her gold eyes opened slowly, as her hand reached for the hilt of Gambol Shroud on her back.

Next thing, a blur shot down at her, bringing down a massive cleaver upon the Black Shadow Cat, who was quick to block the strike with Gambol Shroud still in its sheath! Blake jumped back as her assailant continued to attack her, stabbing with a spear in her left hand that stabbed a shadow clone of Blake, as the Faunus unsheathed Gambol Shroud and retaliated with her own weapon!

Blake's opponent was easily able to block the strike with the cleaver that was as big as she was! Her opponent was wearing clothing that resembled a Sengoku period warlord, (something that Blake was totally unfamiliar with and was going strictly off what she recalled the shinobi girls told her,) and the only aspect of their head that was visible was their brown hair tied in a sideways ponytail with a red ribbon. This was due to their face being obscured by a white mask that looked like an ogre's face.

Blake was able to stab at them in rapid succession with her katana and bladed sheath, vanishing and reappearing with shadow clones that allowed her enemy to expunge her energy! Finally, Blake's opponent spun her staff around in the air to force Blake away, before slamming her cleaver on the ground, which created a shockwave that blew Blake off her feet! The young Faunus was quick to recover, as her opponent lunged for her with her spear outstretched!

Blake turned Gambol Shroud into its gun mode, firing off a few rounds that her enemy leapt over! They brought down her cleaver on top of Blake once again, only to catch a clone! Blake reappeared behind her, snagging her enemy by her leg with Gambol Shroud's ribbon, pulling her from the air and slamming her on the ground!

Her opponent got back to her feet, dusting herself off, before bowing politely to the Faunus. Blake smiled as she brought her weapon back and bowed in return. "You fought well, Murakumo," Blake said.

"As did you," her enemy, now named Murakumo, said. In a flash of light, Murakumo's clothing changed into the standard uniform of Gessen Academy. When Blake first saw it, she honestly was astonished by how strongly it resembled the uniform of Atlas Academy in Remnant.

Murakumo was one of the Elite students that belonged to Gessen Academy, one of the shinobi schools that existed in Yumi's world. Yumi herself was one of the Gessen Elite, essentially acting as their leader of sorts, and had introduced Blake and many of the others to her fellow classmates. Murakumo had come off as a mystery to Blake, but had a great amount of skill in her combat capabilities, both of which had attracted Blake to her.

The main aspect that made Murakumo "mysterious" to Blake, was the fact that she perpetually wore that ogre-esc mask. Much like how Blake hid her ears in a bow, Murakumo seemed determined to keep her face hidden behind the mask for some unknown reason. But Blake did not bring up this fact so as to respect Murakumo's right to privacy. Once again, she could relate in how she had her reasons to keep her ears hidden in a bow, so she knew not to bother her about it (Despite how the bow was designed to imply she had no ears while Murakumo's mask was a lot more... obvious).

Instead, the young Huntress decided to ask the shinobi to train with her. Blake had to admire how she was now meeting real life ninjas, after modelling her fighting style around them to begin with. She just needed to know that it was acceptable.

"I will admit Blake Belladonna," Murakumo said, "while I was skeptical of your ability to fight, you seem to follow the way of the shinobi closely, despite your claims to having no legitimate training as such."

"That means a lot to me," Blake said. "Thank you very much."

"Still," Murakumo said, "you could stand to improve in several places. For example, when I was able to knock you off your feet, you may have been able to avoid that hit, despite how you were able to recover and catch me by surprise."

"Says the person," Blake said, "that got caught by my ribbon."

"I let you pull me back down," Murakumo replied. "I could've easily escaped your grip."

"Of course you could," Blake said, somewhat smugly.

"Don't get cocky now," Murakumo said. "I took the liberty of training with you because Yumi insisted upon it. I didn't have to be so gracious."

"Sorry, sorry," Blake said, waving her hand. "I'm still riding off a high right now from the fact that I actually trained with a real shinobi. Seriously, again, thank you for this."

"Your very welcome," Murakumo replied.

Blake returned Gambol Shroud to her back as she sat down in front of the tree, leaning up against it. She let out a breath, as she felt her eyelids begin to slowly cover her eyes. Murakumo on the other hand was wondering just what that was about, as she tilted her head to the side.

"What... are you doing?" she asked. Blake managed to keep one eye open as she replied to the nearby ninja. "I'm resting," Blake replied. "It's a good thing to rest after training."

Murakumo looked to the side, now visibly unsure of what to do. Blake could see this, and gestured for her to come over. "Come on," she said, "you can rest too."

"I don't know about that," Murakumo replied. "It's not really what I'm used to."

Blake shook her head. "Come on," she said. "It's fine, honestly. You can afford to rest every now and then."

It was hard to tell what Murakumo was thinking, given the mask, but she eventually relented and walked over to the tree. She seemed somewaht uncomfortable as she slowly sat next to Blake, on her left. Blake merely left her be, as she leaned her head back and began to relax. Murakumo eventually began to relax herself, before they both fell asleep. Murakumo even ended up with her head on Blake's shoulder, as the Black Cat herself leaned her head against Murakumo's own.

Unbeknownst to the sleeping pair, a different pair, this one of cheeky blondes, began watching from afar. Naturally, one was Blake's partner on Team RWBY, Yang Xiao Long. The other was another member of the Gessen Academy Elite, Shiki. Both grinned deviously as they saw their friends nearby.

"This is perfect," Yang said. "I'll tell you, Shiki, this plan of yours is awesome."

Shiki let out a proud giggle. "What can I say?" she said. "All my plans are brilliant. Now come on, before they wake up."

They both snuck over as silently as they could to the others, and began removing their sacred treasures. Yang began tugging on Blake's bow, doing as hard as she could to slip it off her head without the Huntress in training noticing. Sadly, Blake's ears were incredible sensitive, so they twitched every time the bow moved, causing Blake to shift in turn. Yang had to grit her teeth as she tried to move the bow, before eventually, it slipped off her head, allowing the pair of ears as black as her hair to become visible to the world.

Despite having less to do, Shiki was faced with just as much trouble trying to remove Murakumo's mask. It was as if the shinobi really did feel her mask was another part of her body, as the slightest of motions nearly caused Murakumo's arms to leap upward to grab it! But, with the greatest of gentleness, Shiki slipped the mask off her head, revealing the brunette's beautiful face to the world.

Shiki stood proudly next to Yang, holding the mask like a prize. "Finally!" she said quietly.

"Boy," Yang said, "you weren't kidding. She really does look pretty. But, why does she hide her face if she's that good looking?"

"I've learnt not to question these things," Shiki replied. "Now come on, before they wake up!"

Yang, however, took a moment to look over Shiki's outfit, as the shinobi was wearing the outfit she wore while in her "shinobi transformation" that made her look like some kind of a witch mixed with a dominatrix. It was incredibly revealing, even more than Katsuragi's own shinobi outfit. "Why're you wearing that?" Yang asked.

"It's comfortable," Shiki replied with a shrug. She grabbed the Sunny Dragon by her shoulder and began dragging her away!

Several minutes later, Blake awoke from her power nap, yawning a little as she sat up. Feeling a weight on her shoulder, she looked down to see Murakumo sleeping against her. The raven haired girl smiled for a moment, before she noticed something different about her. That's when she realized Murakumo was no longer wearing her mask, and the mask itself was nowhere to be found nearby!

Her bafflement became worse after a moment, as she felt a distinctive breeze on her ears. Feeling her heart leap into her throat and her entire body paling at her assumptions, she brought her hand to the top of her head and felt her ears plain as day! "...No..." she said slowly.

Her mind began panicking as questions began flooding her head! How did this happen? Has anybody seen her? Who could have taken her bow?

That last question she found herself able to answer, as the only possibility that had logic in her head came to her mind. "Yang," she said, gripping her hand with the desire to knock the blonde in question's teeth out!

Murakumo slowly got herself up as she felt and heard Blake beginning to freak out. She looked at her combat partner and saw her greatly frustrated expression. But something about the way she was looking at her was different. As she felt the breeze on her face, she began putting two and two together. She let out a small gasp, that sounded more like a squeak, before bringing her fingers to her cheek.

She let out dismayed sounds as she began shaking like a leaf, her entire body turning white as a sheet! Blake saw Murakumo's situation, raising an eyebrow as she looked at the girl having what looked almost like a panic attack beside her! "Uh... Murakumo?" she asked.

It was practically like that one half question triggered the girl beside her to finally loose it, as she began shrieking at the top of her lungs! She leapt forward and went into a roll, before landing on her side and putting her face in her hands, eliciting a muffled shriek! "Don't look at me!" she yelled.

Blake was now utterly gobsmacked by Murakumo's reaction! Just what in the world was her problem? Murakumo managed to get into her feet, still holding her head in her hands as she ran forward! Unfortunately, holding her face in her hands, she could not see where she was going and proceeded to run headlong into a tree!

"Murakumo, stop!" Blake said, running over quick as a flash and grabbing the ninja girl by her wrists. "Let me see your face," she said, finding astronomical levels of resistance from the brunette, not budging an inch as Blake tried to move her arms. "Murakumo," Blake said firmly, "that was a hard hit and you don't have Aura, so just let me see if you're alright."

Finally, Murakumo relented and Blake checked over the girl's face. There was no damage aside from a bruise on the bridge of her nose, but other than that she was fine. And that was the problem. Blake had sneakily taken this as the opportunity to see just what Murakumo was freaking out about, in the event that there had been something Blake had missed when she had seen her face earlier. But there was nothing there. In fact, Murakumo was a very beautiful girl. So just what was she freaking out about? Why the mask?

"Well you have a small bruise," Blake said, "but otherwise, you're fine."

"I apologize," Murakumo said.

"Don't worry about it," Blake replied. "You just had me worried for a second."

"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no," Murakumo replied, stuttering something fierce. "Ab-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-b-bout my f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-f-face. I-I apologize for you h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-h-having to look upon me! I-I can't stand people looking at me!"

Blake was now even more confused. Just why in the world was Murakumo so nervous? Why didn't she want people to look at her? She looked fine.

As she continued holding the shinobi close, she suddenly widened her eyes quite a bit as she saw Murakumo's face burning redder and redder! _Yikes! _she thought. _Is it even physically possible to blush that hard?_

Murakumo's eyes were rushing everywhere as she refused to look at Blake in the eye. That is, until she looked at the top of Blake's head. Surprisingly, she was able to recover just a tad as she gave a quick chukle as she looked at Blake's ears. "Y...you have cat ears?" she asked.

Blake jumped a bit, having forgotten that she had her bow stolen in the chaos revolving around Murakumo's panic. She let out a small smile as she looked at Murakumo. "Yes," she said, "I have cat ears. That's why I wear my bow. So I don't have anybody seeing them."

"W-why?" Murakumo asked. "Why d-d-d-d-don't you want-t-t-t-t people to see?"

"Well," Blake replied, "have you heard of the Faunus in my world? The people with animal features?" Murakumo nodded in reply. "Well," Blake added, "I am one. And it's a long story about why I choose to hide that."

Blake looked away from Murakumo, scanning the buildings of Beacon Academy not far away. "Okay," Blake said, "let's head back to my dorm. I have an idea of who took my bow, so they might have taken your mask as well."

"I-I think I know who took m-m-m-my mask too," Murakumo replied, still attempting to hide her face every now and then.

"Well let's go," Blake said, grabbing Murakumo's wrist and began walking. Murakumo, on the other hand, began panicking once again!

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-wait!" Murakumo said, struggling to hide her face with only one hand! "I-I-I-I-I-I c-c-c-c-c-can't-!"

"What?" Blake asked. "There's nothing wrong." However, she saw that Murakumo was just about on the verge of tears, grinding her heels in the ground in a vain attempt to keep Blake from moving on! Blake was somewhat sympathetic as she stopped and looked at Murakumo.

"Listen," she said. "There's nothing to worry about. Most of the people here are really nice. So I'm sure there's nothing to worry about."

Murakumo looked down, before bumping her head against Blake in defeat. Blake herself could only let out a sigh.

"Look," she added, "quite frankly, I don't want anybody to see me either. I keep my ears hidden for a reason, so if you trust me, I can hopefully get us to my dorm room without many people seeing us."

With those words, the two walked along, Blake leading them to the main campus, but keeping to the shadows to avoid most people as they could. Murakumo was mostly silent as they walked, allowing Blake to focus and get them as far out as they could so that they didn't get spotted by anybody. Before too much longer, they reached the dorm room building, which meant they were mostly out of the fire.

"Hey Blake!" a voice said, causing the Huntress and ninja to jump in shock! Blake looked upward, finding Sun sitting on the roof of the dorm, before jumping down and landing in front of them. Blake could positively feel Murakumo vibrating in fear as she grabbed onto Blake's arm in a vain attempt to hide her face, burying it into the Black Cat's shoulder.

"H-hi Sun," Blake said. "How are you?"

"I'm doing fine," Sun replied, relaxing his arms behind his head. "Who's that with you?"

"Uh, Sun," Blake replied, "this is Murakumo. A... friend, from Gessen Academy."

"Oh you mean a ninja?" Sun asked. "That's cool! But, why is she freaking out?"

"Well," Blake replied, "in case you didn't notice, somebody - probably Yang - stole my bow, and they also stole the mask she usually wears. She's not really happy about it."

"Huh," Sun replied, standing back up straight. "Well, I did notice you didn't have your bow. But really, I don't care that much. You look lovely all the time." He punctuated his point with a grin that caused Blake's heart to flutter ever so slightly.

This was enough to even have Murakumo look up slightly, before she retreated once again upon Sun looking at her. "And from what I can gather here," he said, "this girl is quite cute!"

"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-!" Murakumo tried to say, but found herself unable to speak coherently! Sun could only chuckle in response. Choosing to leave her be, he began strolling away, tail wagging happily.

"Well," he said, "I'll see you girls around!" "Bye Sun," Blake said with a wave. Blake proceeded to look back down at her trembling companion, who allowed herself to peak out now that Sun was gone.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-he was... n-n-nice," Murakumo said.

"Yeah," Blake replied. "He's pretty cool. But don't ever let him know I said that."

Blake lead Murakumo inside the dorm rooms, keeping her eyes peeled for anybody that would approach them in there. She really could not afford to let any classmates she purposefully did not tell about her heritage see her in her current state. It could spell the end of her reputation and the start of an ever more difficult climb for her to instate Faunus equality.

"FATALITY!"

Blake jumped slightly upon hearing Yosuke's victory cry, accompanied then by the sound of Lillica groaning in defeat, before being followed by a 'thump!' noise. Blake peaked through Team JNPR's door to see Yosuke doing a victory dance as he sat on one of the beds, with Lillica laying face down on the floor, with Jaune and Makoto sitting nearby.

"Dang! You got wrecked!" Makoto laughed.

"Okay Yosuke," Jaune said, "you're on a winning streak now, but next you gotta see the power of my Erron Black!"

"Bring it on, Arc!" Yosuke said. "My Johnny Cage is unbeatable!"

Blake rolled her eyes as she prepared to make her way over to her team's dorm room. Only problem was she heard a new voice that caught her attention. "Blake? Where's your bow?"

Blake jumped even more at the sound of Weiss's voice, spinning around to see the snow white heiress looking at her curiously. "O-oh, Weiss!" Blake said. "Uh... I think Yang stole my bow. Have you seen her?"

"No," Weiss replied. "No I haven't." She settled her eyes on Murakumo, eyes widening in surprise. "Uh... is she okay?"

Blake looked at Murakumo, seeing that the shinobi's face had turned beat red once more and her body was trembling dangerously! "Uh, Murakumo?" Blake asked. "Are you gonna be alright?"

"I can't take it!" she said.

Much to the girls' shock and horror, Murakumo reached under her skirt and hooked her thumbs on the hem of her panties! She pulled them straight down below her knees, revealing an honestly kind of skimpy leopard print pattern! The Huntresses turned beat red at the sight, wondering just what in the name of all things good could be possessing her to do that!

Blake promptly grabbed Murakumo by the wrists and kept her from continuing with... whatever it was she was trying to do! "What in the name of Dust are you doing?!" she yelled.

"I can't take it!" Murakumo said. "I need something, anything to hide my face!"

"But why your panties you lunatic!?" Blake said.

"You hear something?" Makoto's voice said. Blake rolled her eyes as she shoved Murakumo into Weiss, throwing the both of them into the room before she shut the door behind her. This was right on time, as the others in Team JNPR's dorm room opened the door and looked at the Faunus girl questioningly.

"Oh, hey Blake," Jaune greeted.

"Not going with the bow today?" Makoto asked.

"N-not by choice," Blake said, repeating what she'd said to Sun earlier.

"Is there anything we can do?" Yosuke asked. Blake couldn't help but smile at her friends' offers to help her, but at the moment she felt the most help she could get was by taking a proper nap due to her exaustion from everything she was handling.

She felt her ears twitch as somebody began poking them, looking over to catch the sight of Lillica poking her ears mischievously. Blake rolled her eyes as she shoved the demoness aside. "I appreciate the offer," Blake said, "but I really need to be on my own for awhile. This is frustrating and I don't want to mistreat you all."

The door to Team RWBY's dorm room opened as Weiss shoved Murakumo ahead by hanging onto her collar. "She's your headache," Weiss said bitterly, "so you handle her."

Murakumo was merely hiding her face in her hands, her panties having thankfully been returned to their proper place (or at least Blake couldn't see them anymore). The others standing with the group were looking at the new girl curiously, which Blake knew would only lead to Murakumo proceeding to panic once more.

"Oh, who's this?" Yosuke asked.

"Guys," Blake said, "this is Murakumo. She's a shinobi. And she seems to have a real inferiority complex. At least that's what I've gathered."

"Huh," Yosuke said. "Well, she's cute!"

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-w-why does e-e-e-e-everyone s-s-s-s-say that!?" Murakumo asked.

"Uh, cause it's true?" Lillica said, as if it was obvious. Which it was.

"Aw," Makoto said, grabbing Murakumo and snagging her in a massive hug! "She's so shy! Oh I just want to bottle her up!"

Murakumo looked about ready to pop, as Blake held out her hands in a placating gesture! "Makoto! Please take it easy!" Blake said.

The next moment, her ears flicked upon catching the sound of somebody approaching. "Oh nut bunnies," she muttered. Leaping up like a real cat, Blake threw herself to the ceiling, using only her nails to suspend herself in the air! (This feels familiar, don't it?)

The next moment, both Naoto (Shirogane) and Coco walked down the hall, the older woman rubbing her eyes in frustration. "Please brainiac," Coco said, "you're a positive snack. You gotta wear something more flattering!"

"I don't particularly enjoy the prospects of such things," Naoto replied. "I like wearing what I normally do."

"But you're not taking advantage of your natural beauty!" Coco said. "I mean, your friends told me you got some assets hidden under that Sherlock Holmes coat of yours, and you should flaunt them!"

Naoto's eye began to twitch. "They really do want me dead," she said in annoyance.

The two caught sight of the small crowd standing out in the middle of the hallway. "Oh, hey guys," Weiss said, still clutching onto Murakumo's collar as the shinobi tried to run! "What's up?"

"Oh, hello Weiss-senpai," Naoto replied. "I was just asking Coco-senpai some questions. You've mentioned how skilled her team was, so I just wanted to get more of an impression on what real Huntsmen in your world do for missions."

"Still not a real Huntress yet darling," Coco said, ruffling Naoto's hair under her hat, much to the Detective "Prince's" annoyance.

"Unfortunately," Naoto said, snagging her hat back, "much of our conversation just devolved into her giving me fashion advice. Which I did not appreciate."

Coco rolled her eyes dramatically. "Because!" she said in exasperation. "You are beautiful! I cannot stand it when anybody with natural beauty squanders it!" She gestured the nearby Jaune, who was watching with confusion. "Just look at this guy! I tried giving him fashion advice for hiding behind such grungy clothes all the time! And that ninja boy who hides behind that reserved outfit of his on their team too! God! Could you just imagine how gorgeous he'd be if he grew out his hair~"

Yosuke, Weiss, Lillica, even Murakumo all looked to Jaune curiously. "I can concur," he replied, "that she did give me advice, and take me shopping. And it was horrible."

"Anywho," Coco added, looking at the shinobi being held hostage, "who's the new cutie?"

She walked over to Murakumo, eyeing her up over the bridge of her sunglasses. Blake, who was still clutching to the ceiling due to not revealing her Faunus heritage to Coco just yet, could tell plain as day that Murakumo was practically ready to pass out in embarrassment! She was not happy with the amount of eyes on her, and wanted nothing more than to run!

It was honestly enough to make Blake feel pretty bad. She promised she would keep the both of them alike from being exposed, yet she really hadn't succeeded in that whatsoever. Since she didn't see people who knew she was a Faunus already as a threat, she didn't really think much of it when they saw the both of them. And the moment she heard somebody unidentified approaching, she bailed out to save herself. _Wow, _Blake thought, _I really suck. I gotta make this up to her eventually._

"P-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-!" Murakumo stuttered, unable to form a complete sentence! Coco snagged this and looked honestly confused.

"Relax darling," she said, putting a hand to her shoulder. This didn't prove effective, as in a puff of smoke, Murakumo managed to recall enough shinobi skill to break out of Weiss's grasp and break into a run for parts unknown! The only problem was that Lillica was in her path and put a foot out to trip her off her feet!

A sound of collective groans was heard at the end of the hall, everyone looking over to see that Murakumo had crashed right into Shiki and Yang, who had been hiding around the corner! In their state, Murakumo saw her mask that Shiki had dropped. She didn't even hesitate, she pounced right for it and planted it back on her face!

Both blondes sat back up, catching sight of everyone that had been watching the scene unfold. "Well," Yang said. "Gues that's it for us."

"What were you two up to?" Coco asked.

"Just having fun," Shiki replied, waving a hand as if it were obvious. "Pranking friends. All in good spiri-!"

The next moment, Murakumo had grabbed Shiki by the back of her neck, and hoisted her up to her feet. With the ogre mask planted firmly back on her face, her state was now giving off a terribly hostile aura! "**You have ten seconds to run,**" Murakumo said threateningly, "**before I exact vengeance upon you for the humiliation you've caused me.**"

"W-what!?" Shiki said. "M-Murakumo, please be reasonable! I-I was merely just trying to get y-you to see t-that everyone finds you gorgeous!"

"**One**," Murakumo said. "**Two. Three.**"

That did it, Shiki broke off into a run, spewing expletives as she sprinted away! Yang was standing nearby, as Murakumo continued to count. "Uh..." the Huntress said. "So just so we're clear, this was all Shiki's idea and I had nothing to do with stealing your mask." Even as she said this, she stepped away to keep out of the line of fire.

Finally, Murakumo got to ten, where she then proceeded to summon her weapons! "**There is nowhere you can run where I won't find you!**" she shouted, shooting down the hallway in the direction that Murakumo had gone down!

Everyone else nearby merely watched the scene unfold, all of them a pale white! "Well," Jaune said, "I think we can all sufficiently say that we didn't see that coming."

"Yeah," Blake said, snagging her bow back from Yang. "For some reason, Murakumo is a totally different person when she's wearing her mask. I don't really begin to understand how it works or why she feels the need to hide herself."

"Wait, Blake-senpai?" Naoto asked. "When did you get here?"

"Yeah," Lillica said, "weren't you hiding from Cacao?"

"Well that's the thing,." Blake replied, "when all this was going on, she took off for some reason."

"Huh," Yosuke said. "Wonder why that was."

"Whatever the case may be," Blake said, before proceeding to grab Yang by the throat and glare at her with what seemed to be glowing eyes of fury! "What was it that Murakumo had said to Shiki? Oh yeah. You have ten seconds to run..."

Yang chuckled awkwardly. "Guess the _cat's outta the bag_?" she asked. "Oh Dust..."

* * *

Coco had to admit, witnessing Murakumo totally beat the tar out of Shiki was quite the sight to behold. She never thought she could see clothes shred so completely as she was now, yet there it was. If the campus was more packed, quite the number of guys and even a few girls would've gotten quite the sight as they saw Shiki stripped down to every shred of clothing save for her panties. Not even a bra was left to hide her... assets.

Murakumo stood over her broken body, spear and cleaver in hand as she looked down at her decimated quarry. "Do you admit defeat?" she demanded.

"Yes," Shiki replied.

"Do you regret your actions?" Murakumo added.

"Yes," Shiki replied.

"Wow," Coco said, walking over to the two of them. "You know Murakumo, I have to admit this side of you is very new to me. I was not expecting you to be so... assertive. Your earlier persona was so... meek by comparison."

"My face is my weakness," Murakumo replied. "When hidden beneath the mask, I am at my strongest."

"Don't worry, I get you," Coco replied.

Murakumo raised an eyebrow beneath her mask. "You do?" she asked.

"Yeah," Coco replied. Before Murakumo could even question what she meant, the leader of Team CFVY snagged her mask off her face! Murakumo squealed in terror, as Coco began walking away, effortlessly holding Murakumo back from reclaiming her "defense" with one arm.

"G-g-g-g-g-g-g-g-give it back!" Murakumo said.

"Why?" Coco asked. "You're gorgeous sweety. Accept it."

"No!" Murakumo screamed.

Back with Shiki, the blonde haired shinobi laughed in delight. She had a feeling she was going to enjoy spending time with that Coco girl. But perhaps she should have been more concerned with the fact that she was not bothering to keep her... balloons... from being on display the way they were.

* * *

_Epilogue:_

Back with Blake, she was just enjoying herself in the safety of her own room with a book in her hand.

"So," Yosuke said, "how long do you think it's going to be until we see Yang again? You kinda went crazy on her."

"Eh, she'll be back before too much longer," Blake replied.

"Huh," Yosuke said. Unbeknownst to Blake, he cracked the door open, allowing a familiar curl of pink hair in the shape of a heart to crawl into the room. Just when Blake felt the sensation of a new presence nearby, it was already too late.

A pair of fingers began scratching the bottom of her chin, causing her to tense up, before succumbing to a blissful feeling! Heart sat behind her, allowing Blake to lay on her lap, while she continued scratching Blake's head in all the right places, causing the Black Cat to pur in delight. As the final touch, Heart removed her bow and began rubbing her ears.

"So," Yosuke said to Weiss, "is it... right, to let her do that?"

"Do you want to try stopping her?" Weiss asked.

"Not really," Yosuke replied.

* * *

_**A/N: This took much longer to make than I would've preferred, but don't judge me okay!? I had a lot on my plate recently, so I didn't exactly have the time or energy to properly write this piece!**_

_**Now that I have that out of the way, this chapter was pretty fun. This is the first of **_**many **_**suggestions from one Will DeGrave, who left a plethora of great suggestions with the Senran Kagura characters I would have no qualms with trying out in the near future! And I can't deny, I resonated with this idea first, hence why it's... you know... the first one.**_

_**Just the idea of having Blake and Murakumo lose their most iconic garments that act as safety nets for them was too good to resist. By this point, since Blake has already confided her secret with most of the others by this point, there wasn't much tention with her, but I did throw in that hiding moment with Coco to at least have her react to one person that doesn't know the truth about her. I figured that since Team CFVY are often showed as more casual friends with RWBY than the essentially extension of their group that JNPR is, save for Velvet who loves everybody, they wouldn't know the truth about Blake being a Faunus. Velvet, maybe. Not the rest of the group.**_

_**Also, good reason for throwing Coco in here aside from that, but I'll get to that in a mo'.**_

_**As for Murakumo, not much else to say. During my "research" of the Senran Kagura series, I found her as just adorable. Which was probably the point of her. I didn't have her refer to herself as "hideous" like I've seen her do a few times, because at other points she doesn't do that. Even in her Estival Versus campaign she actually tries going without her mask on the town. Naturally she still can't handle not wearing her mask for whatever period of time she can, but I didn't know if she was still going off the idea that she was actually ugly, so I just didn't use that.**_

_**Other than that, the amount of stuttering was too good to resist doing, so I just had her do that too. I'll admit, I probably could've done more with her, so I might revisit this idea in the future, but for now I was just tackling with I was comfortable with in my mind. The idea of her trying to use her panties as a mask was also a reference to her story from Estival Versus. Also, in case you're wondering why more people weren't teasing Blake about her ears, by this point they're all probably well aware that she's self-conscious about that.**_

_**And on a final note this is the first... and probably not the last, instance of "clothing breaks" from the Senra Kagura series, with the first victim being: Shiki! Yeah, this is still awkward for me to write about. I didn't particularly have a certain character I was "aiming for" first, but I figured with the way in which Murakumo was so royally pissed off after having her mask stolen, she'd have nothing to hold her back from subjecting Shiki to that. In case you're expecting more of that in the future, I'll see what I can do.**_

_**Anyway. Main reason why I chose Coco as the one to trigger Blake's own drive to hide was because I FINALLY began reading the novel, RWBY: After the Fall. I haven't finished it yet, but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. The ideas are really awesome, and it's great to have more focus on Team CFVY since they've yet to be seen since Vol. 3 (Probably for the best). So, yeah, that alone will probably have me throw them in even more than I have been already. And who knows, maybe a totally new project unrelated to BBTAG could stem from that... you never know ;)**_

_**Next up we have a few more replies to reviews (also, if you have a preference, let me know if you'd like these at the start or end of chapters, that way I know how I should format it):**_

_**To Althea Sirius, who asked if I think Blake and Komi (presumably Komi from Komi-san is Bad at Communicating) I think that she would. Probably like with Murakumo, she would sort of try handling Komi like an older sister figure in a way, just sort of offering reasurrances to the poor socially awkward girl.**_

_**To the Guest user that informed me that Londrekia specifically belongs to the Ritter Schild branch of the Licht Kries, I am aware of that. I know that the Licht Kries is an all-female organization now, while Ritter Schild is where male members are trained, but most promotional material mentions Londrekia specifically being a part of the Licht Kries, which is probably because the Licht Kries is more notable by this point. But don't worry, I will elaborate on that in a later chapter.**_

_**To AnEnemyStandLoL, who asked if I will do a chapter about Ragna and Naoto (K)'s relationship, I would like to. The problem is that I'm still having trouble getting into Blazblue's larger narrative. I've only just discovered the manga that tackles the plot of Calamity Trigger, which should hopefully help in the future. But aside from just reading up on articles online (which I find immensely boring) I don't really have a whole lot to help me there. So, again, I would like to eventually, but it may take more time.**_

_**And finally, to Will DeGrave and AmethystRibbonKnight, I just wanted to personally thank you both for your incredibly kind comments about how much you have enjoyed the story thus far. It's stuff like this that tells me that this really has been worth it. Initially back when I was writing the trainwreck that was "A New Lease on Life" which I'm still debating on whether or not I should take down because of just how nonsensically written it was and the fact that I didn't even bother including any of the Blazblue characters, I really did just start on trying to get on a bandwagon before it even became a bandwagon by writing a BBTAG story when the concept was still relatively new.**_

_**I'll admit, I've had mixed feelings on several chapters and do genuinely think about rewriting them at times, just to fix up on some elements here and there, specifically where others have mentioned things like OOC behavior or just little flubs with spelling or grammar. But the kind words you've said really touched my heart. I don't mean to toot my own horn or anything like that, but thank you both a lot. And just a big old thanks to everyone who's been reading this thing, leaving suggestions, or just offering suggestions on where to improve. Every one of you matters to me and gives me the drive to keep on going.**_

_**And with that little bit out of the way, just because I got bored, I left a little height chart down below. For now, it's just the playable characters from BBTAG, but if you want, I'll include more in the future like the (many) characters from outside of the playable roster.**_

_**And just as a final plug, please be sure to check out my other story "The Ones Who Bump Back" if you're a fan of Ben 10, Danny Phantom, Tokyo Ghoul, Rosario+Vampire, and more!**_

_**Until the next time, please continue leaving more suggestions, I hope you did enjoy, have a wonderful day, and I'll see you next time!**_

* * *

Blitztank: I've left unlisted, but only because a.) there is no recorded height I don't think, and b.) it really doesn't matter. It's big, let's leave it at that.

Waldstein: 8'5"

Tager: 7'10.5"

Merkava: 6'11"

Hakumen: 6'10"

Azrael: 6'8"

Gordeau: 6'3"

Ragna: 6'0.8"

Kanji/Hazama: 6'0"

Yu: 5'11"

Jin: 5'10"

Akatsuki: 5'9.5"

Yosuke/Naoto K/Carmine: 5'9"

Yang: 5'8"

Hyde/Nine: 5'7"

Yuzuriha/Seth: 5'6.5"

Blake: 5'6"

Yukiko/Yumi: 5'5"

Makoto: 5'4.2"

Aigis/Orie/Mai: 5'4"

Weiss/Labrys/Tsubaki: 5'3"

Ruby/Chie: 5'2" (This one surprised me. Not sure why.)

Noel: 5'1.8"

Heart/Nu-13: 5'1"

Naoto S: 5'0"

Es: 4'11"

Neo: 4'10"

Rachel: 4'9"

Vatista: 4'7"

Platinum/Mika: 4'8"

Linne: 4'7"

Teddie(In Suit): 4'3"

Jubei: 4'0.3"

...


	25. Hail to the King

Yu Narukami was many things, and undefeated was definitely one of them. Well, to be more precise, nobody seemed able to trump him in terms of willpower. The Kingpin of Steel was unbreakable, that much was simple, and try as they might, nobody would ever prove themselves capable of overcoming him.

Still, Yosuke Hanamura was determined to try that out this very night. After the spontaneous ass-kicking that his partner and best friend exhibited to him not too long ago during their guy's night out, Yosuke had been slowly making up a strategy to get revenge. It was all in good fun of course, Yosuke and Yu were practically as close as brothers. But Captain Resentment was far from allowing that sleight to go unpunished.

So, tonight, he was setting up a plan to totally throw Yu to the wolves! He knew that practically everybody he met after the Phantom Field incident were all just as iron-willed as Narukami, or at least nearly as such. So, it made for the perfect opportunity to "test" just how far Narukami's undefeated streak could truly go.

The call was out, and Yosuke managed to gather up at least a good majority of the people and friends from his clique. Not only did he naturally bring the rest of the Investigation Team save for Chie, plus Marie, Mitsuru and the other Shadow Operatives with Labrys, but he also gathered several others! Including Ruby and Blake from Team RWBY, Makoto, Mai and Noel, who were finally able to bring their friend Tsubaki Yayoi with them, Sun and Neptune from Team SSSN, Jaune from Team JNPR, Orie with Mika and Wagner from the Licht Kries, Vatista, Heart, Saki, Kamui, with a friend of theirs named Maori Kasuga, Yumi and her girls from the Gessen Academy, and Katsuragi with her group from Hanzo Academy.

Yosuke was thrilled by how he set this up! With a few generous donations in addition to his reputation as the 'Prince of Junes', he managed to reserve the entire club for this "private party". Now with everyone here, he could finally settle things with Narukami!

"Welcome one and all!" he said to the arrivals as they all got to the entryway. "Thank you very much for coming! And please, let us all have a wonderful time!"

A few of the girls like Heart, Mika, Ruby, Yukiko, Katsuragi, and a few others from the "ninja" schools cheered in delight! With a backward kick to the door, Yosuke stepped aside and allowed the guests to make their way in. He grabbed the sleeve of Mitsuru's big fur coat as she walked past and leaned over to her. "Hey, thanks for helping me reserve this place, Mitsuru-san," he said.

"It was no trouble," Mitsuru replied. "Anything to help you all have a good time. Although, I must say, I'm somewhat regretful that Chie, Weiss, Yang, and Hyde couldn't attend."

"Yeah," Yosuke said. "I couldn't get them in for some reason. They all said they were busy, but they didn't say with what." Mitsuru merely shrugged in response.

"If I were Hyde," Katsuragi said, appearing right behind Yosuke, "it'd probably be for one fun night of his own, if you know what I mean!"

Yosuke leapt out of his skin in surprise at Katsuragi's appearance, before pointing at her accusingly! "Okay, look here," he said, "I invited you because I see you as a friend, but I want you to be on your best behavior tonight, you hear me?"

"Aw~ And here I thought you were a player, Yokee?" she said. "The both of us could relate to one another and try to win all the ladies!"

"There's a difference between being a player and being a sexual tyrannosaurus!" Yosuke said. "You're over there!"

"Hehe," Katsu laughed. "I don't mind that."

"We mean it Katsuragi," Mitsuru said. "No harrassment."

"Don't worry!" Katsuragi said, waving off Mitsuru's comment. "I'll be on my best behavior-gah!"

She found her ear tugged on by Ikaruga, who had appeared by her side upon realizing Katsuragi was out of sight. "And I promise you," Ikaruga said, "I will do everything in my power to ensure she keeps to that statement."

She dragged Katsuragi into the club, the blonde girl going 'Ow! Ow! Ow!' all the while. Mitsuru shook her head as she entered as well. Yosuke's eyes returned to the street, where he saw a few of the others, namely Yumi and a few girls from Hanzo Academy, plus Orie and her girls from the Licht Kries, discussing among themselves before entering. It seemed as if they were trying to convince some of the others to enter.

Yosuke decided to check what was wrong. Even if he did set this up as a revenge scheme against his best friend, he was still playing the host of this party. Not to mention these were still some of his friends, or his friends' friends, so he wanted to ensure there wasn't anything wrong.

"Hey all," Yosuke said to Yumi. "How're things going?"

"Oh, hello Hanamura-kun," Yumi replied. "Yagyu from Asuka's team was just nervous, so Asuka and I are just trying to help."

"Really?" Yosuke asked, looking at the girl in question. From the steely gaze, plus the white hair, Yagyu almost looked like Weiss fused with Blake if she had red eyes, no scar... and an eyepatch for some reason.

"It's not me," Yagyu replied. "It's just, I'm worried about Hibari. With the amount of people in there I'm worried about how she's going to be."

"Oh Yagyu!" Hibari, the pink haired girl that was straight-up a doppelganger of Heart, said. "It's fine! I want to meet new friends!"

"Most of our 'new friends' end up fighting us," Yagyu said, "and I have to protect you."

"Yagyu, there's no trouble!" Asuka said. "I'm sure all these people are super nice! Ask Yumi!"

Yumi nodded. "Yes," she said. "I've gotten to know a few people from in there, and I can say that you wouldn't find a group of more wholesome and caring individuals."

Yagyu appeared more thoughtful. She looked to Hibari again, the pink haired girl still pleading with her eyes.

"Don't worry about it," Yosuke said. "While we've got our fair share of troublemakers, tonight is a night of fun! A night for people to meet up and relax!" He leaned over, as if sharing a risky secret. "Plus, judging from how your friend here looks, I can direct you to some patrons that I guarantee she'll fall in love with."

Hibari's eyes lit up, and that was enough for Yagyu's tension to totally dissolve. "Very well," she said, a small smile on her face. "I'll take your word for it." "Yay!" Hibari cheered in delight, hugging Yagyu tight. "Thank you Yagyu!"

"Hey Yumi-chan," Yosuke said. "You know Heart-chan and her friends, right? Mind taking Hibari-chan over to them while I finish up out here?"

"Absolutely," Yumi replied. She took Hibari's hand, leading her into the club, as Yagyu and Asuka hung back with Yosuke.

"Thank you Yosuke," Yagyu said. "You really helped. I just worry about anything happening to Hibari."

"I understand," Yosuke said. "Really. Taking care of my friends and being able to protect them is the one thing I want more than anything else. So I get where you're coming from. And if I were in your shoes, I'd worry just as much for Hibari-chan."

Yagyu looked over to Yosuke, a small smile returning to her face. "Yes," she said. "I concur." She waved to Yosuke as she entered the club, hoping to catch up with Hibari and Yumi.

Yosuke heard Asuka giggling next to him, and looked at her curiously. "What's up Asuka-chan?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," Asuka replied. "It's just, I've heard from Yumi or Blake that you're pretty silly, and not the brightest." _Not the brightest!? _Yosuke thought. "But that," Asuka added, "was really nice and understanding. So, thanks for helping my friends!"

Yosuke smiled at Asuka. Like her companions, there was something about Asuka that reminded him of somebody else. Only in her case, he couldn't quite place it.

"Well," he said, "you're welcome. I'll see you inside." He moved over to the Licht Kries girls as Asuka entered the club.

"Please Wagner? Please?" Orie asked.

"Yes, please-yuu!" Mika said. "It'll be super fun-yuu! I promise-yuu!"

"I refuse to see a point in interacting with such ne'ere-do-wells," Wagner replied. Yosuke raised a brow as he saw her. So this was the infamous 'Wagner' that he'd heard so much about.

"Is there a problem here, ladies?" Yosuke asked.

"Oh, not at all, Yosuke," Orie replied. "We're just trying to convince Wagner to have fun."

"Yeah-yuu," Mika replied. "And she's super stubborn-yuu."

"It's not that I'm stubborn!" Wagner said. "I merely just don't see why I should bother."

"It's because you've never really spent time at a party like this, isn't it?" Yosuke asked.

Wagner spluttered and fumbled her words in response, face flushing slightly! "W-what makes you-!?" she said.

"I've heard stories," Yosuke replied, putting a hand over her shoulder. "But come on, just give it one shot and I promise you'll see the point. And for another point, don't tell anybody about this, but I know a game we're gonna play that I'm sure you won't refuse."

He leaned over and whispered in her ear, much to Mika and Orie's confusion. Wagner's face lit up as he finished explaining, smiling in satisfaction. "Very well," she said. "I'll take up your offer."

She strutted into the club on her own, leaving very surprised co-Licht Kries members in her wake.

"What the heck was that about?" Orie asked.

"Oh that?" Yosuke asked. "I told her about a game I expect us to play that will allow her to overcome you, Orie. Seeing that you have a rivalry, I knew she couldn't say 'no'."

"What?" Orie asked. "Yosuke, why did you do that to me? We brought her here so she could forget our rivalry!"

"Well I had to do something," Yosuke shrugged. "Besides, she's in the club now, isn't she?"

Mika giggled happily as she pulled Orie into the club behind her. Yosuke clapped his hands together in delight. Now that everyone was in, he could return to being devious and plotting his revenge.

"Hey Yosuke!" Sun's voice called. Yosuke looked over to the Faunus in question, waving to him. "What's up, Sun?" he asked.

Sun replied by pulling out one of his guns and shot at a nearby tree! Before Yosuke could even wonder what he was doing, Seth promptly dropped out of a tree, landing in a heap beside Yosuke!

"Seth, what he heck!?" Yosuke said.

The assassin got back up, wobbling on his feet as Sun put a firm hand to his shoulder and held him still. "Uh..." Seth said. "I was... observing."

"Well," Yosuke said, "why don't you come inside? You can hang out."

"I don't do that sort of thing," Seth said.

"Oh come on man!" Sun said, pushing Seth inside against his will. Yosuke waited to see them get inside, before he resumed his plotting.

He went inside, watching as the patrons hung out, danced to the music, or got their (non-alcoholic) drinks. The whole time, Yosuke was patiently biding his time. Waiting for everyone to get sufficiently "drunk off atmosphere" as it had been dubbed before. It would be a one out of fifty chance that it actually worked again, but he had hope.

For several minutes, he just circled the perimeter like a hungry shark, allowing everyone to spend time amongst themselves. He had to admit, he was getting the wam fuzzies and a good sense of satisfaction from how everyone was having a good time. He even found himself wrapped into a few conversations at one point or another.

"Yo, Yosuke!" Junpei cheered from the bar, sitting beside his teammates. "Way to throw a party, dude! The kids are loving it!"

"Thank you kindly," Yosuke said, fist-bumping Junpei as he walked past.

Yosuke continued walking, failing to see a shape with a bushy tail sneaking behind him, only until she pounced. "Hey chief!" she cheered, spooking Yosuke, who spun around to see Makoto standing right behind him!

"Makoto!" he said. "Could you not do that?"

Makoto laughed in delight. "Sorry about that," she said. "But I just came to say how great this party is! Seriously, even Tsubaki is liking it!"

Yosuke looked over at the girl in question, spying the redheaded ponytail, as she was bouncing excitedly next to Ruby and Yumi, talking animatedly about something. "So then," Tsubaki said, "they made a sequel to the Six Heroes movie a few years later. I'll admit, there are a few critiques people have for the number of liberties they had with the characterized versions of the Heroes, particularly revolving around this somewhat awkward romantic subplot they made between Terumi and Nine, but frankly I felt that it was an interesting interpretation!"

"Wow," Ruby said, hands up to her chin as she looked positively enamoured! "That all sounds awesome!"

"Tsubaki is quite the Six Heroes enthusiast," Noel said with a laugh.

"Tsubaki!" Yumi said, equally as eager as Ruby. "You have got to share some of your things with us next time we meet up!" This caused Tsubaki to laugh happily.

"How come we haven't seen her before?" Yosuke asked Makoto.

"She's got her own stuff going on," Makoto replied. "Not really a fan of the whole 'socializing' thing very often. But when we mentioned this party, she asked if she could come."

"Well glad she did," Yosuke said. He looked back to Makoto, seeing how her face was slightly red. "Uh, Makoto?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"Oh, I'm having the time of my life!" the demi-human replied, before laughing in a goofy manner.

"Okay," Yosuke said, patting her shoulder. "Why don't you go find Noel? I gotta find Narukami."

"Okay~" Makoto laughed, as Yosuke gently pushed her away.

The Persona user smirked in delight. His plan was already coming into motion. A few more people like her to get drunk off the atmosphere, and he would totally begin to put the final touches to his scheme to outdo Narukami.

"Hey, there he is!" Kanji's voice said. Yosuke turned to see his teammates all sitting at a table together. "Great party Yosuke-senpai!"

"Thanks Kanji," Yosuke said. "So how're we all doing over here?"

"Well," Naoto replied, "both Yukiko-senpai and Rise-chan are-"

"Wooh!" both girls cheered, faces bright red.

"...Like that," Naoto finished saying.

"I see," Yosuke said, rising a brow at his other female companions. "You both having a good time, eh?"

"Oh Yosuke-senpai!" Rise said, running over and hugging Yosuke around the waist. "This party is so great! You're real good at setting this stuff up! You _gotta _set up more stuff like this in the future!"

"Oh definitely!" Yukiko said, throwing her arms over his shoulders. "You're so dense at times but you got a talent for this kind of thing!"

"Uh... t-thanks girls," Yosuke said, trying to wriggle out of their grasps. While he would normally be positively blissful over the prospects of being held intimately by both the star idol and Yasogami's heartthrob, he was on a mission. He needed to make sure that-

"Wait a second," he said, spying the number of faces at the table, "where's Teddie and Narukami?"

"Ted went to go hit on the ninjas," Kanji replied. "And Narukami-senpai is somewhere."

"I found him," Naoto said, gesturing to the bar where Yu had suddenly appeared in front of the Shadow Operatives. Having joined him over there were also the girls from the Licht Kries.

"Cool," Yosuke grinned. "I'll be back."

He left Yukiko and Rise hugging each other as he made his way over to the bar where Yu was speaking to the others. He bumped into Wagner first, who was leaning against the counter something fierce.

"Uh, hey Wagner," he greeted, "you doing well?"

"I'll admit," Wagner said, leaning her head back dramatically, her own cheeks pink, "I've begun to enjoy myself fiercely. But I demand that game of yours soon! Or else... I'll set you on fire."

"Fair enough," Yosuke said. "We'll be doing that soon, I promise."

He walked over to Yu, who was speaking before a very entertained looking Mitsuru and Yukari, and a somewhat interested Labrys.

"Yosuke!" Yu said suddenly, pointing to his friend. "This night has been incredible! I feel like a god!"

"Good to know," Yosuke said. He looked to the girls, gesturing at his partner. "Excuse me ladies, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to take him off your hands. We're going to be playing a game."

"Really?" Labrys asked.

"I'm game," Yu said, glasses having just... appeared on his face. "I'll crush all those who oppose me."

"No!" Wagner said, appearing beside Yu, glaring him in the eye. "That's my line! I crush all those who are against me!"

"Eheh," Labrys laughed uncomfortably. "Uh, should I join or will things get even more dangerous?"

"Oh please," Yosuke said, "join us." Successfully managing to drag Yu behind him, Yosuke soon grouped back up with his team and everyone he could find that were willing to join in the game, which consisted of Ruby, Katsu, Makoto, Sun, Orie, Labrys, Yumi, Ikaruga, Wagner, Jaune, Yozakura, Tsubaki, Yagyu, Saki, Blake, Murakumo, Shiki, and Seth (who was dragged there by Sun).

"Okay everybody," Yosuke said, "we're going to have a little game. It's called the 'King's Game'."

"Oh no," Naoto said, rubbing her eyes.

"Really Yosuke-senpai?" Kanji asked. Teddie, Rise, and Yukiko all cheered in delight, whilst Yu still looked ready to pounce on anybody that moved.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"The game is simple," Yosuke said, pulling out a set of sticks that he'd had kept in his pocket the entire night thus far, waiting for this moment. "Everyone here will draw sticks. I'll take a few out since there's not as many here as I was anticipating, but even still, with as many of us as there are, we will have just over twenty straws to draw from."

"Scratch that," Naoto said. "I refuse to take part in this game."

"Same here!" Kanji said. "I'm not letting you do any of that weird crap with me!"

"Oh come on!" Yosuke said.

"Yeah, Kanji," Teddie said. "You can't just go quitting like that. Or else, everybody is gonna think you're a beary big sissy!"

"I ain't no sissy!" Kanji yelled directly in Teddie's bear face! "I just don't like this stupid game!"

"What're the rules?" Blake asked.

"Well," Yosuke said, "everybody's gonna draw a stick. All the sticks have numbers, except for one, which has a star. The person with the star is the 'King' who will then choose a request and a number, and whoever has that number, does the request the King chose."

"And it can be anything?" Katsu asked eagerly.

"Anything," Yosuke replied certainly.

"Nope," Yumi, Ikaruga, Tsubaki, Yozakura, Yagyu, and Saki all said.

"Oh come on!" Yosuke said.

"I won't play a game," Saki said, "where a raging pervert is going to just up and fondle us."

"How dare you!" Teddie said dramatically. "I would never do such a thing! I am a gentleman grizzly!"

"Not you," Saki said, gesturing to Katsu. "Her." Katsuragi laughed awkwardly.

"I'll gladly watch to make sure my friend doesn't do anything untoward," Ikaruga said, "but like Saki, I refuse to take part in this game myself."

"Oh come on Ikaruga!" Katsu said, flopping over onto her friend's lap like a gasping fish. "It's no fun if you don't do it to! Is there really nothing you'd like anybody to do for you without question?"

"No, not remotely," Ikaruga replied, before pushing Katsu off her lap.

"What about you, Yumi?" Blake asked. "Are you really gonna back out?"

"I... I don't know," Yumi said. "I mean, is it really okay to make somebody do something they may not want to do? Are there no limits?"

"Not remotely," Yosuke replied firmly. "Well, you know, save for things that just up and go without saying." His eyes fell upon Teddie and Katsu again. "Although for some people, that may not be as clear."

"Hey!" they both said.

Yozakura puckered her lips in frustration. "Are you going to be playing too, Yosuke-kun?" she asked.

"Of course," Yosuke replied. "It's only fair."

"Haha! Yeah!" Makoto laughed. "Yosuke's in the game!"

"Agreed," Labrys said. "It'd be no fun if Yosuke didn't agree to participate."

"Why do I suddenly fear your enthusiasm?" Yosuke said, slightly nervous about the ASW and demi-human's intentions.

"Hmm..." Yumi said, rubbing her chin. "Very well," she said. "I'll play this game too!"

"Really?" Yozakura asked.

"Yes," Yumi said. "I can't deny there is a bit of a thrill about what this game will be like."

"Very well," Yozakura said. "I'll agree to it as well, so long as you are playing."

"I'll play as well!" Tsubaki said firmly.

"What?" Orie asked. "Didn't you just back out?"

"I did," Tsubaki said. "But if somebody like her agrees to play, then so shall I!"

"And Yagyu?" Katsu asked. "You gonna be a spoil-sport too?"

Yagyu blinked a few times, before turning her head in a seemingly random direction. As Yosuke followed her gaze, he found her looking at Hibari, obviously, who was having a fun conversation with Minori, Heart, Maori, and Noel. "Nah, I change my mind," she said. "I'll play too."

"Alright!" Yosuke said. "So just so we're clear, Saki, Naoto, Ikaruga, and Kanji are all out? But everyone else is in?"

Everyone voiced their agreeances. "Wait," Ruby added, "what about Yu? He hasn't said anything... yet?"

She said this as she turned to see Yu, who was looking on with a dangerous glint in his eye! "Start the damn game," he said. Everyone looked at him with a hint of fear in their eyes, Ruby and Yumi, who Yu was sitting in-between, both moved a few inches away from him out of fear.

"Very well," Yosuke said. "Then let the game begin!"

Everyone save for those that chose to back out pulled sticks and sat back in their seats. It was a relatively packed space with over twenty participants present, but they manged. "Okay everyone," Yosuke said, "remember, there may be twenty-one of us playing, but the stucks only go so far as up to twenty, with the starred stick being the one to mark the 'King'. So, who has it first? ...Only asking cause' I don't."

"Huzzah!" Murakumo said, thrusting her arm up in the air with the stick with the black star in her hand! "I am victorious! Now you have to do whatever I ask!"

"And by 'you'," Naoto added, "you mean the person with the number you select."

"T-that's what I meant..." Murakumo added awkwardly.

"Alright," Ruby said, "go ahead and choose a number, one through eighteen."

"And you gotta, like, choose your request first," Shiki said. "Otherwise you'll get totally clouded if you choose what you want people to do!"

"Very well," Murakumo replied. "For my request, whomever I chose has to be my lap pillow."

"Your what?" Kanji asked.

"Ooh~ Steamy," Teddie said, paws up to his chin in delight.

"What does that even mean?" Jaune asked.

"You really don't know?" Orie asked. "It means that she gets to lay her head down on your lap! Hence, lap pillow!"

"Oh," Jaune said. "I... guess that isn't so bad."

"So go ahead and pick your number, Murakumo," Yumi said.

Murakumo rubbed her chin (or the chin in her mask, more like) as she began thinking hard over her choice. It was impossible to tell exactly who had which number, as nobody said what they had. Finally, she held a finger out! "I choose number eight!" she declared.

"... Oh crap," Seth said.

"Welp," Jaune grinned, "looks like Seth's the lucky participant."

"Yes!" Murakumo cheered in delight, throwing a fist into the air and scaring the crap out of Tsubaki and Blake sitting beside her! She practically jumped over to Seth and laid her head in his lap! Unfortunately, due to the positions everyone was sitting in, not only did she end up with her head in Seth's lap, but she also had her body laying on top of Sun, Makoto, Katsu, and Orie.

"E-excuse me, Murakumo?" Orie asked. "Y-you're laying on top of us too."

"I see that," Murakumo said.

"This was not part of the rules!" Makoto said. "You're getting off of us!" She and the others moved to different seats, leaving Seth alone with Murakumo.

"This is beneath me," Seth said.

"Stroke my head too," Murakumo said.

"I positively refuse," Seth said.

"Okay, next set," Yosuke said, gathering the sticks.

"Wait. How long am I supposed to stay like this?" Seth asked.

"Give it a minute," Yosuke said. Seth merely growled in response.

Soon enough, everyone drew again. "Alright, who's up now?" Yosuke asked. "Again, still ain't me."

"I did it!" Yukiko cheered.

"Oh God," Yosuke added.

"Okay Yukiko-senpai," Naoto said, "think hard about your request. And remember, you can only choose a number and not a specific person."

"I remember Naoto!" Yukiko said, nearly smacking Naoto right in the face. "Don't rush me!"

"Okay," Yukiko said. "I want this person to tell an embarrassing story! And I'm talking the juicy stuff!"

"You requested that last time," Kanji said.

"Please don't," Naoto said. "It'll make our lives easier if she doesn't try to think."

"And the number's gunna be..." Yukiko said. "Eleven!"

Blake let out a sigh. "Yep. That's me," she said.

"Ooh," Sun said, tail swishing happily. "Okay Blake, story time!"

"Uh..." Blake said, face reddening at the prospects of what she might have to say!

"Remember!" Yukiko said, adding pressure upon her! "It's gotta be the juicy stuff! Like, super duper embarrassing!"

"Why me?" Blake asked, eye twitching. "Why does it always have to be me?"

"Come on Blake," Ruby said. "We're all friends here."

"Tell me!" Katsu added, feet pounding impatiently. "I've got to know what you're hiding in there!"

Blake let out a sigh, starting her punishment.

"So... you know how it wasn't summer that long ago? And, well, as a Faunus I sort of... reacted to the particular time. One day I got really bad and tried not going anywhere. But I distinctly remember blacking out, and when I woke up, I found myself huddled up in a place I barely even recognized, around Gessen Academy, and Yumi told me that she and Hyde had come over and, well... when I saw Hyde I... flipped out."

Everyone was looking at her with wide eyes and somewhat disturbed expressions. "Hold up," Yozakura said, holding up a hand, "are you telling me... you were in... _heat_?"

Blake hid her face in her hands, her face actually hot enough to the point that she fould feel it emanating from her body!

"I can add more context," Yumi added. "Hyde and I were coming to visit Blake since Hyde had borrowed a book. And a moment after he opened the door I saw a black blur, and she was suddenly on top of him! It was a good thing she was really weak at the time, because it made it easier to get her off of him. But there was still a lot of biting. And spit."

"I want to die," Blake moaned.

"O~kay~" Yosuke said. "Let's move on."

Blake was soon able to regain enough shame to raise her head. Looking to her other side, she saw Yagyu had been looking directly at her, a hand over her mouth. When they made eye contact, Yagyu finally broke down and let out a small laugh!

"S-sorry," Yagyu said. "I just... I never expected that."

"Yeah," Blake said. "But even when you do expect it, it scarcely ever helps." That got another laugh out of Yagyu, much to Blake's satisfaction.

"A bit of a shame that little friend of yours couldn't join," Blake said.

"Hibari?" Yagyu said.

"Yeah," Shiki said from not far away. "She and a few of those other little girls are, like, playing games or something over there. They should be okay, though. This game is, like, totally for grown up people."

"If you say so," Yagyu said.

Soon the sticks were distributed again. Yosuke grit his teeth in frustration. Thus far not only had he failed to get named King, but Yu had also yet to do anything either. The whole time the Kingpin of Steel was silent as the dead, as if he were a predator waiting for his moment to strike.

Turns out, Yosuke was not the only one frustrated with not winning. Both Katsu and Teddie groaned in exasperation upon seeing their sticks. Although Yosuke didn't need to be as smart as Kokonoe to guess that they were frustrated for a totally different reason than he was.

"Okay, who's up now?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah!" Makoto cheered. "I'm up next!"

"Okay," Ikaruga said eagerly. "What's the request?"

"You seem to be having fun," Saki said.

"What can I say?" Ikaruga said. "Watching this is fun."

"And yet," Jaune said, "you said it was wrong to take advantage of other people."

"Hey, hey, hey!" Makoto said. "Alright, listen up! Whoever I select has to arm wrestle me!" She was still slurring her words and appeared drunk, so it was clear she was still drunk off the atmosphere.

"Okay! I select number ten!"

Labrys slammed her elbow against the table! "Bring it!" she said.

Makoto laughed in delight, as both she and Labrys began to arm wrestle each other! Nearby, the others began cheering in delight, as their arms moved back and forth!

"Go Makoto! You can do it!" Ruby cheered.

"You got this Labrys!" Rise cheered, almost toppling off her feet! "You can beat that... *Urp!* s-squirrel!"

The fight continued, neither one giving an inch! Makoto seemed to be faltering a bit, thanks to the fact that not only was she drunk, but she was also fighting a robot! Finally, Labrys won out, and slammed Makoto's arm onto the table! She cheered in delight, the two shaking hands and congratulating one another.

"Well," Yumi said. "That was entertaining. What do you think, Yu?"

"That was spirited," he said grimly.

"Come on," Yosuke said. "He's not giving an inch. Even if he hasn't gotten a chance to play, he can't seriously not be getting any more drunk."

"Okay, who's up next?" Yumi said, having gathered all the sticks.

"Wait, when did you do that?" Yosuke asked.

"This is fun!" Yumi said. "I wanted to keep going so I gathered them while those two were wrestling."

"How very responsible," Yu said, pulling a stick.

"Oh, thank you Narukami-kun," Yumi said happily.

"Really?" Yosuke asked himself. "So not only has he yet to get his commupance, but now he's flirting?"

Why was Yosuke getting this frustrated? Yu was his best friend, and his partner. Yeah, that whole debacle from before left a sore spot for him, but that shouldn't be enough for him to really want to screw over his best friend this much, right?

Yosuke shook his head. No, he told himself. Yu went out of line first for something Yosuke didn't even know he had done. He was just returning the favor.

"Again?" Yosuke told himself, looking at his stick that did _not _have the star on it. "Okay. Who?"

"Oh! It's me!" Yumi declared.

"What?" Yosuke asked. "You didn't cheat, did you?"

"Oh no," Yumi said, shaking her head. "I swear."

"I can vouch for that!" Murakumo said. "Yumi would never be so calous as to cheat in anything!"

"Totes," Shiki agreed. "She's hella responsible about everything."

"Okay then," Yozakura said. "You know the drill. Request and number."

Yumi put a finger to her temple, thinking hard about her choice. "I want," she said, "to pinch my quarry's cheeks."

"Wait, what?" Kanji asked, face flushing. "Why?"

"I have my reasons," Yumi replied.

"I think I know those reasons," Yozakura said, with an embarrassed smile, Murakumo and Shiki nodding in agreeance.

"And my number is... four," Yumi added.

"...Well," Ruby said, "that appears to be me."

Yumi gasped in delight.

"You totally cheated," Yosuke said under his breath.

Yumi didn't care about what he said, however. She hurriedly reached over to Ruby, and held her head in her hands. First she started by gently poking Ruby's cheeks on either side, causing the hooded girl to giggle.

"So, how are my cheeks?" Ruby asked.

"They feel like marshmallows," Yumi replied with a giggle of her own.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Marshmallows?" she asked, rather indignant.

Yumi continued prodding Ruby's face, starting to pinch and pull at her cheeks. "H-hey!" Ruby said while laughing, her voice sounding weird because of her lips being tugged. "If you pull on my face like that it's gonna get all weird!"

Yumi merely laughed.

"I approve of this," Yu said.

Yumi jumped at the sound, looking to her left, seeing Yu's face uncomfortably close to her own. It was only then that Yumi realized that in order to get at Ruby's face, she had sat right on Yu's lap without knowing.

"T-to, uh, what did you mean?" Yumi asked. "Me pinching Ruby's cheeks or me sitting on your lap?"

"Yes," Yu replied.

"This is just bizarre," Tsubaki said.

"Agreed," Sun said. "Let's move on."

Yosuke had gathered up the sticks, holding them out for everyone to select. The sticks were selected. Yosuke still didn't have the star, leaving him more frustrated.

"Okay," he said in defeat, "who is it?"

Wagner laughed maniacally, rising over the others with her stick aimed to the heavens like a sword!

"Something tells me," Sun said, "that it would be her."

"What was your first clue?" Seth asked.

"Okay," Orie said, "what's your request?"

Wagner looked at Orie with a slightly demented expression. "My pick," she said, while stil looking directly at Wagner, "will have to kiss my feet!"

"Ew," Jaune said, sticking his tongue out.

Katsu merely giggled in delight, salivating slightly.

"Well," Yosuke said, "you gotta pick a number. So go ahead."

"Number..." Wagner said, thinking hard, "sixteen!"

"Oh yeah!" Teddie cheered in delight.

"What!?" Wagner said. "No! No, it wasn't supposed to be you!"

"Them's the rules, Wagner," Shiki said.

"Now let me give you a grizzly kiss!" Teddie said.

"No! No! I refuse!" Wagner said, backing away from Teddie as the bear suited... bear, walked towards her.

"But it was your rule," Seth said. "You have nobody to blame but yourself."

Wagner merely ran as Teddie continued to chase her, her threats of setting him on fire falling on deaf ears.

"Well," Yosuke said, "looks like we may have just lost two of our players." Nearby, Katsu merely saluted Teddie as he continued to run.

"Make that four," Naoto added. Yosuke looked over to see that Yukiko and Rise had passed out and were sleeping soundly on their seat.

"Well," Yumi said, "maybe that's our cue to put this game to rest."

Yosuke was about to argue, only for most of the others to start agreeing. Even Narukami remained silent as the dead, not making any indication of disagreeing. The only one who disagreed was Katsuragi.

"What!? You're kidding me!" she said. "I never even got to do anything!"

"Exactly," Ikaruga said. "So best to quit while we're ahead."

"Fine," Katsu said, before throwing up her groping hands! "But that just means I get to-!" She was promptly kicked in the gut by Saki!

"None of that," the bluenette said. Katsu, from her position on the ground, threw up a finger. "I will admit," she said, "that was a solid kick."

This left Yosuke sighing in defeat. "Well," he said, "what should we do next?"

"We could just talk," Yagyu replied.

"I'm down for that!" Labrys added.

"Yosuke?" Ruby asked. "Where're you going?"

"I'm gonna grab a drink," he said, somewhat upset that there was no alcohol at the counter. For the next while, the group merely just hung out together in the club. Yosuke, by this point, had totally given up on his goal of trying to get back at Narukami. He just supposed that it truly was that the Kingpin of Steel was indomitable.

Eventually, everyone ended up totally plastered. Yumi was still herself, but saw that almost everyone was totally knocked out. She watched as Labrys pulled herself back up from the floor to the seat, eyes blinking a few times.

"I... I'm a robot! How do I get drunk!?" she asked.

Yumi sighed as she looked over at the others. "Well," she said, "I think we should about wrap things up here and get everyone back home."

"Good point," Yagyu said. "Let's get those Shadow Operatives to help get everyone else home. Anyone who isn't drunk should help out."

"On it," Naoto said, pulling a tipsy Kanji to his feet.

Slowly but surely, those that were still "sober" began helping the others get safe passage back to their respective homes. As everyone began to gather, Orie noticed a few missing faces. "Hey wait a minute," she said, "where's Yosuke?"

"He and Makoto went off somewhere a while ago," Yagyu replied.

"And you didn't stop them?" Orie asked. "You don't know what they could be doing in their condition!"

"Relax," Yagyu said. "I've been keeping an eye on them."

"Oh, okay," Orie said, feeling somewhat relieved. "Well, where are they?"

Yagyu pointed to a corner table, where Makoto was sitting on Yosuke's lap, arms around his neck.

"Dude," Makoto said, "you are so fucking beautiful."

"Right back at ya," Yosuke said.

"You don't mind my ears or my tail?" Makoto asked.

"Not at all," Yosuke said. "In fact, I think they make you even cuter."

"You're so kind," Makoto said. "How can you always be so kind?"

"I dunno," Yosuke said. "How can you? You never make fun of me or pull on my chain, unlike most people."

"Just take me out on a date already," Makoto said.

"Why don't we just skip the date?" Yosuke asked. "And get right to the good stuff?"

"You. Me. Bed. Now," Makoto said.

"Okay! Stop! What the hell!?" Orie said.

Orie and Yagyu managed to separate the Persona user from the demi-human, and began to make efforts to take them home. Noel and Tsubaki, who were both sober as opposed to Mai, helped their friends home, while Yagyu kept Yosuke propped up.

"I'll see if I can find Naoto or Kanji to get him some help," Orie said.

"Don't bother," Yagyu said. "I'll take care of him."

"Are you sure?" Orie asked.

"Yeah," Yagyu said. "I don't mind."

"I can help," Yu said, walking over to the two of them, hands in his pockets.

"Really?" Yagyu asked. "In your condi..." She cut herself off as she continued looking Narukami directly in the eye. "You're not really drunk, are you?" she asked.

"Nope," Yu replied.

"And you haven't been drunk at all tonight, have you?" Orie added.

"Nope," Yu said.

"Alright then," Yagyu said. "You grab his other arm." With that, Yagyu and Yu had Yosuke's arms thrown over their shoulders and began walking him back home.

Yosuke's head was rolling from side to side, before he was able to focus in on Yu. "Narukami..." he said slowly.

"Yeah?" Yu asked.

"Sorry I was a dick," Yosuke said. "I wanted to get back at you for fighting me..."

"I understand Yosuke," Yu said. "And I apologize for picking a fight with you in the first place."

"You two had a fight?" Yagyu asked.

"Yeah," Yu replied. "It was pretty dumb."

Yagyu nodded.

"Trying to get back was uncool," Yosuke said slowly. He looked at Yagyu next. "You gotta protect," he said.

Yagyu smiled at him. "Trust me," she said. "I do. All the time, I want to protect the person I care about."

"Yeah," Yosuke said. He looked up at the sky, his head lolling back. "All the time."

The next morning, Yosuke woke up with what could only be attributed to a hangover. He blinked a few times in confusion as he saw that he was not in his home. He recognized the spot as Yu's bedroom in Inaba. A quick check on the clock showed that it was nearly ten o'clock in the morning.

He stumbled his way to the kitchen, where he found Yu making breakfast, passing a plate over to Yagyu, who was sitting at the kitchenette counter patiently. "Good morning," Yu said.

"Well it is morning," Yosuke said, still rubbing his head, "but the jury's still out on good."

"Maybe this will help," Yu said, making Yosuke his own plate.

"Thanks Narukami," Yosuke said. He sat down next to Yagyu, picking at his plate as he tried to regain his appetite. After a minute, he put his chin in his hand, a thoughtful expression on his fate.

"Something wrong?" Yagyu asked.

"Nah," Yosuke said. "It's just... did I have a date or something?"

* * *

_**A/N: This took a bit longer to get out there than I had hoped, but a few contributing factors lead to it being a smidge delayed. One was the fact that I was finishing up with my other project and that took more of my attention, the second was a lapse in motivation, and the final part was that I got sick over the weekend and am only just getting better. All the same, I had fun with this!**_

_**While I always intended to create a chapter dedicated to the group playing "The King's Game" from Persona 4, it was also suggested to me by Mystech Master. It was a moment that was born for a story like this, m**__**uch like the Group Date Cafe (Which I'm pondering about rewriting)**__**. While thinking of it, I figured it would also be pretty fun to have it done as a minor revenge plot by Yosuke to get back at Yu for the beat-down that he received in "Guys' Night Fantasizing". **_

_**In terms of the requests and characters, nothing to really say on that. It was all just the first things to come to my mind that felt appropriate. We also get some more YosukexMakoto hints in here too. But the one moment I was hoping for was Yagyu getting to interact with Yosuke, as despite being such polar opposite characters, I felt they could both relate to one another on the topic of protecting their friends, so I think over time they might become closer. Not shipping levels, but just good friends nobody would expect.**_

_**For the recent comments:**_

_**To Will DeGrave, I will definitely keep that suggestion in mind. And I did purposefully leave out Shiki's accent, because I found it would be really hard to write for XD! I did try including it more here, though. But honestly, characters' speech inflections are a major weakness for me. Heck, I was convinced half the time that Makoto had some accent!**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya, I intend to rope in Gordeau eventually. I am going to revisit the antagonists of the story, so I'll get back to them soon.**_

_**And to both Kicklash and the guest user who referenced Akatsuki Blitzkampf, and just as a message to everybody in general, I will happily do more with Akatsuki in the future, but the trouble is I have little if anywhere to actually learn more about the characters! I've looked up basic info off wikia forums or so on, but I have sadly found nothing from the franchise that I could watch/read. The entire franchise, as far as I can tell, have been Japanese exclusives up til' this point. The closest we ever got was Akatsuki included as a third party character from UNIB. If anybody knows where I can find anything to learn more about the characters, please let me know!**_

_**Finally, for a few other things related to the franchise, initially my main Senran Kagura crush had been Asuka, with a little liking for Yagyu, but upon seeing Yumi in action I promptly lost it! If cuteness really is justice, she is the embodiment of justice. I still really like Asuka, but I think I've mostly transitioned to Yumi. **_

_**Also, something I randomly found on the RWBY wikia was that the characters ages have changed! I knew that Ruby had turned sixteen during the timeskip from Vol. 3 to Vol. 4, but from Vol. 5 to Vol. 6, everyone was aged up a year! Ruby's now seventeen, Weiss and Blake are eighteen, and Yang (who I only recently discovered turned eighteen in around Vol. 5) is now nineteen! So does that mean a year passed between Vol. 5 to Vol. 6 where positively NOTHING HAPPENED?! This is why I have some issues with RWBY.**_

_**Anyhow, just felt that was worth mentioning. Be sure to let me know what you think, what other things you would like to see! Also, in case you're wondering where Ragna, Hyde, Yang and the others were during all this, stay tuned ;)**_

_**Thank you so much for reading, and have a fantastic day! Take care!**_


	26. Rage Mode Engage Mode

Why?

Why hadn't he decided to go to the party?

Why did he let himself be swayed so easily?

He supposed part of it was the blame he had to place onto himself due to the fact that he let himself be manipulated by somebody he viewed as a best friend. Hyde lived fairly isolated at the start, his parents keeping very busy and never making any long-standing bonds with people in school, the most he had for legitimate friends outside of Linne and Waldstein being Yuzuriha, who he cut ties with for a good while, and Orie, where their relationship was fairly complicated. Henceforth, he grew somewhat connected with the different people he'd met in the Phantom Field.

Those he had been closest with were Ruby, Yu, and Weiss. Hyde and Yu had teamed up together against the surprise encounter with Jin and Jubei. He had also helped Ruby after believing her to be bullied by Yosuke and Chie. And finally, he had rescued Weiss from being attacked by the monstrous man called Azrael.

Weiss had taken a vested interest in Hyde after that, seeing him as one of the few genuine gentlemen in her life. Hyde was fairly flattered by that, given how strongly critical of every person she met in her life. Even Yu, whom Hyde had genuinely thought Weiss had a crush on, was not exempt from being criticized at a few instances from his odd behavior.

Hyde saw Weiss as one of his best friends, and they spend a surprising amount of time together, most of their meetups resulting from Weiss begging Hyde for a reprieve from the people that she spent her time with. From there, she and Hyde would meet up at a cafe where Weiss would rant about whatever antics Ruby, Yang, or even Blake had gotten into. Hyde would be remarkably patient, allowing Weiss to vent.

This was why, upon getting called by Weiss to come over to his dorm room for an "emergency", Hyde totally put off going to Yosuke's party to see what his friend needed. "Hey Weiss," he said, upon entering the room. "I got your message. What did you-"

The next moment, the collar of Hyde's red button-up shirt was grabbed by Yang, whose glowing red eyes and flaming hair was a clear indicator she was in pure "Rage Mode Engage Mode". His head proceeded to roll back and forth at mach ten as Yang proceeded to shake him back and forth! "Kido-kun!" she yelled. "What in the world is wrong with your dimension!?"

Hyde could only moan in confusion as Yang shook him! By the time he stopped being shaken he could only vaguely spot Weiss in the midst of an anger-induced fit, tugging at her hair, which was undone and left to run free around her back. Any number of cry of rage or pain emanated from her mouth as she could not even speak coherently!

"Would one of you mind explaining to me what in the world is going on?" Hyde asked.

Yang pulled Hyde over and pointed at Weiss's laptop, showing a video game title card on it that read: Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy. Hyde's eyelids slid over, indicating his own annoyance as he looked back and forth between the two girls and the computer.

For those that haven't heard the horror stories, Getting Over It was a rage-game that was made by the titular man, Bennett Foddy. The game became an internet sensation with people trying to overcome the challenge that was controlling a man inside of a cauldron with nothing more than a hammer to climb his way up a mountain. Suffice to say, the rage knew no bounds.

The player is forced to use the mouse or trackpad to control the man's arms to pull themselves up a mountain, and that was it. The movement only got harder the further the player got, having to pull themselves along different terrain with the constant fear of dropping. The traction was awful, as the hammer is supposed to be some kind of lever or such to drag yourself along. And the worst part of all, was there was no checkpoints, so you could easily lose half your progress in one drop. Or even more. The game was an unapologetic exploration of uncompromising game design.

Obviously, this game did not exist in Remnant or Ragna's world (Hyde still didn't know what that world's name was). So Yang and Weiss knew nothing of what the game was capable of.

"Really?" he asked. "You two - _you two _\- were playing this game? This dead meme?"

"Don't get cocky with me, Kido!" Yang said. "Yosuke set us up!"

"He did what?" Hyde asked.

As Weiss continued growling and screaming with her mouth shut, Yang continued, not loosening her death grip over Hyde's collar. "Yosuke sent us this game, saying it would be fun. He asked if we had ever played it, and said that we it would make for a good challenge for us. From there, Weiss and I have been stuck playing it for nearly forty-five minutes!"

"Why would Yosuke do this to you?" Hyde asked.

"He was clearly getting back at me!" Weiss yelled.

"What did you do?" Hyde asked.

"Well it certainly wasn't worth the agony I've been experiencing now!" Weiss replied.

"Weiss..." Hyde said like a stern parent. Weiss aimed her gaze at the ground, knowing that Hyde was one of the only people who could truly break through her crust and get her to set aside her own pride and be honest. The only one who may be able to rival that was Ruby, and even then, it would only happen after Weiss was sufficiently annoyed by the red hooded girl.

"Okay," Weiss said. "I convinced Yosuke to go on a blind date with Coco, failing to tell the boy that she was gay. For the next several minutes, Yosuke was being lead along until Coco finally broke the honest truth to him, and from there, the Persona user cried to himself for several minutes while Coco continued teasing him."

"Oh, Schnee, why?" Hyde asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Like he didn't have it coming!" Weiss said. "After Teddie and Katsuragi, Yosuke is one of the thirstiest people I've ever heard of! It wasn't worth having me sitting here for nearly an hour, going back and forth on this stupid game, keeping me from going on a date with Londrekia! The pain has no bounds!"

"Okay you two," Hyde said, "I think you both just... Yang, would you let me go already!"

"S-sorry," Yang said. "I... I was having PTSD flashbacks."

"Okay," Hyde said. "Maybe you both just need to..."

"People paid money for this," Yang said quietly.

"W-what?" Hyde asked.

"People paid money for this!" Yang said, shaking Hyde again. "Why would people actually pay money for this torture device they call a game!? Why?!"

"What are you doing anymore!?" Hyde asked as Yang continued shaking him.

"Yang-chan!" Chie declared in triumph. "I got your message! What's going-!?"

The carnivore paused as she continued watching Yang shake Hyde in anger! "Uh... Yang-chan?" she asked. "You, uh, doing okay?"

Yang paused as both she and Weiss looked at Chie. "Oh Chie!" they yelled, jumping over to the meat loving girl and throwing their arms around her!

"What did I miss?" Chie asked.

"Yosuke tricked them into playing Getting Over It," Hyde replied.

"Oh mother of God, why!?" Chie said.

"There is no justice in the world...!" Weiss cried hysterically.

Chie gained a look of angered determination as she gently pushed Weiss and Yang over to Hyde, whom promptly began hugging him in defeat. "Hey, wait a minute!" Hyde said.

"Just hold them, Kido-kun," Chie said. "I'm gonna get revenge."

"What're you going to do?" Hyde asked.

"I'm going to speed run this stupid game and rub it in Hanamura's face," Chie replied. "That'll shut him up good and allow him to drop his guard long enough for me to dropkick him all the way to the sun!"

"Chie," Hyde said, "not that I doubt your skills at video games (although I was totally able to stomp you in Tekken) that game is designed to be unfair. You're never going to beat it in a single run."

"Watch me!" Chie declared.

**Several Minutes Later.**

"Aaaaaahhhhhhh! You were right Weiss-chan! There is no justice in the world!"

"Shut up! Don't touch me!"

Hyde and Yang merely watched from Blake's bed as Weiss and Chie lay in a defeated cuddle in the heiress's own bed.

"You seem to have sufficiently calmed down," Hyde said over Chie and Weiss's crying.

"Eh," Yang replied. "I wasn't really sad. Just angry."

"Bennett Foddy can do either of those things to people," Hyde said. "Or both. You never know."

"In all honesty," Yang said. "What kind of a twisted demon would you have to be in order to unleash a creation of such tyranny? You'd have to be, like, the lovechild of Torchwick and Merlot."

"And now I have that image in my head," Hyde said, rubbing his eyes.

"You're welcome," Yang said proudly.

Hyde smirked as he smacked Yang lightly in the stomach, causing the blonde to pull him into a noogie! The touching moment was broken by Weiss and Chie releasing another wail of pain! "Okay, these two have to stop before-"

Before Yang could finish her sentence, Ragna burst down the door with a dark aura emanating from his body, as his eyes glowed red with such ferocity it made Yang feel fairly inadequate.

"What does it take for you kids to shut the hell up already!?" he yelled. "I've been hearing screaming in here for the past half an hour!"

The next moment, the Huntresses, In-Birth, and Persona user looked to the Bloodedge standing in the doorway as the dark energy slowly subsided from his calming breaths.

"Uh... sorry Ragna," Hyde said. "The girls have been experiencing something of a crisis."

"Well any crisis save for bloody murder," Ragna replied, "does not make it alright for you to be screaming like this! God! Why do I constantly find myself babysitting you little lunatics!?"

Weiss got up, eyes red and puffy, and stood directly in front of Ragna. "What are you-?"

Before Ragna could finish, Weiss grabbed him around the neck, a sinister aura of her own appearing to be on her body! "Listen to me carefully you uncouth, filthy buffoon," the Ice Queen said slowly. "If you want to experience the same level of agony to which my friends and I have had been forced to go through, by all means. I welcome it. If not, you can shut that mouth of yours and leave!"

She released Ragna and pointed towards her laptop. Everyone in the room was dead silent as they looked at Weiss giving Ragna the cold stare down! Weiss definitely knew just how dangerous Ragna was, even refusing to hang out with him on a few occasions that nobody bothered listening to, but here she was staring him down with a murderous glint in her eye!

Ragna was able to shake off his stunned silence in a moment, before walking silently over to the computer. "I swear," he said. "One of these days you're going to catch the wrong side of Blood Scythe and I'm not going to be sorry about it."

"Weiss..." Hyde said. "Do I... want to know how you did that?"

"No," Weiss replied. "No you do not."

"How do you think Ragna's going to do?" Yang asked.

**Eventually:**

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Holy mother of fuck! All you of you die you sons of bitches! Fuck me! Fuck you! Fuck life!"

"Yeah, this seems about right," Hyde said, he and the girls hiding outside the door.

Ragna, at the moment, was blindly swinging around dark limbs from his body, scorching the floor and the walls, or even singing sides of the beds!

"If he catches my computer," Weiss said, "he's going to have to pay me back for it."

"Am I the only one who finds this rage pretty hot?" Yang asked. Everyone turned to her with somewhat frightened looks. "What?" Yang asked. "It's been awhile since I've been on a date! I'm lonely!"

"Well, Yang-chan," Chie said, "I can sufficiently say that you are the only one who thinks that. Because I know the moment that Ragna-san turns that rage on us we're going to-!"

Ragna turned towards them! "You..." he said. "You damn kids! Always so _**fucking **_annoying!"

"Aw shit," Hyde said. "Time to run!" The four promptly broke off into a powerful sprint as Ragna shot right after them! "You cannot escape from me!" Ragna yelled.

It was times like this that Hyde seriously hated being the pushover that he was. Because if he weren't so adamant at being a good friend, he would have been at a party right now. He just hoped that his friends were enjoying themselves more than he was.

* * *

Ruby was skipping merrily through the club, a goofy as hell smile on her face! The King's Game had proven to be about as fun as she had hoped for, even if she did get her cheeks pinched by Yumi. Blake had run off... somewhere, with Sun, and while Yang and Weiss weren't here with her, she was still enjoying herself thoroughly with the rest of her friends. Perhaps she could find Jaune, or Noel, or one of Yumi's teammates and- "Wah!"

Ruby ended up bumping into somebody due to the fact she wasn't looking where she was going! She ended up on her butt, rubbing her head. "Oh, sorry about that," Ruby said awkwardly.

"Oh, you're fine! I wasn't paying attention!" the girl she bumped into said. Ruby blinked a few times as the gears turned in her head, registering who it was that she had just found. She never met the girl before, but her appearance fit with the description given to her by Yumi and Katsu for the student of Hanzo Academy; Asuka.

But as she looked at her there was something else in particular about her that she couldn't quite place, though she wasn't sure why. Something about the dark hair, the red scarf, the sound of her voice, all these things coupled in with their matching age left Ruby thinking there was just something... odd, about this.

"You... look... familiar..." they both said in sync.

They collectively shook their heads! Asuka jumped up first, offering her hand to Ruby. "S-sorry!" she said. "Uh... m-my name is Asuka. I think you're... Ruby, right? Katsu and Yumi told me about you. I-it's nice to meet you."

"R-right!" Ruby said, taking her hand. "You're Asuka, right? It's nice to meet you too!"

Asuka helped Ruby to stand, but her confused look returned as she looked Ruby in the eyes. "Uh..." Ruby said. "You okay?"

"Your eyes," Asuka said. "They're... reflective."

"Hehe," Ruby laughed awkwardly. "Yup! My eyes are silver! Kinda unique."

"Oh! Don't worry!" Asuka said, waving her hands. "I don't think they're weird or anything. But I like them! I, uh, actually think they're really pretty."

Ruby felt her face flush. "T-thanks," she said. "Uh, say, you wanna hang out?"

"Oh sure!" Asuka said. "I was just looking for Yumi so we could hit up this cafe, actually. But I'd be happy to have you join us! Have you seen her?"

"I think I did," Ruby said knowingly.

On the other side of the club, Yumi was sipping on her shirly temple proudly as Tsubaki sat in front of her, with a look of utter astonishment on her face! "So you mean to tell me," Tsubaki said, "that this entire time the secret to justice, is... cuteness!?"

"Yes, that's right," Yumi replied. "If you are cute you are automatically absolved of all sins. You can comfort everyone around you, soften their hearts, and even inspire world peace!"

Tsubaki merely looked at her, wide-eyed and utterly flummoxed. "I want to disagree with you," Tsubaki said. "But I find I cannot."

Both Ruby and Asuka watched them with sympathetic smiles on their faces. "I... think she's gonna be there awhile," Ruby said simply.

* * *

_**A/N: Well this one was a quicky! This is based on a suggestion from Neptunia56, who wanted to see what would happen if Hyde, Chie, Weiss, Yang, and Ragna played the infamous "Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy". I found it would be particularly difficult for me to write out the actual events of the game itself, plus I don't think many people would want to go through the monotony of reading the events of the game sprinkled in with the increasing anger of the characters, so I found it funnier just showing the immediate responses, also giving the answer to where these guys were during the party last time.**_

_**I had fun in describing Hyde and Weiss's connection, given how he did seem to hit it off strangely well with her in the UNIB story mode. Not shipping levels, get your heads out of the gutter! Have you read this story! It's Night Rose (that's what I'm calling RubyxHyde) for life! But all the same, I thought it was unique to see her with a totally positive relationship with a guy.**_

_**Not much else to say, everyone either resorted to rage or sadness because of the game's infamous BS! I teased a bit more Weiss and Londrekia in this, but honestly I've become kind of on the fence about that pairing. I do think it'd work, but since Londrekia doesn't have any personality yet I just don't find it as interesting as Weiss and Yu. Let me know what you guys think!**_

_**Also, I figure I could point out now as a running joke by this point, whenever the characters have played games, they've always played 2D fighters like Ultimate Marvel Vs. Capcom 3, Injustice 2, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, just to name a few. This is because, Blazblue: Cross Tag Battle is another 2D fighter. I dunno. I was just trying to be clever! XD**_

_**On another note, I included a brief section I had intended to put in last time that I felt just wouldn't fit well. The first thing we got is Ruby meeting Asuka, which was a meet up I knew I wanted to include from the first moment I familiarized myself with Asuka's character! And I wasn't joking earlier. I legitimately feel that Ruby and Asuka are parallels of each other!**_

_**I also included Yumi teaching Tsubaki about justice. That one was just a given, I had to do it.**_

_**As always, thank you all so much for reading! Be sure to let me know what you think and what other suggestions you'd like to see! And now, as a special bonus, I'll give you all a sneak peek into next chapter!**_

_**This one was suggested initially by Kamencolin in Chapter 11. I didn't forget, I've just been distracted with other things. But now that I thought about it a bit more I realized, Oh Yeah! This is happening!**_

* * *

**Next Time on "Cross Tag Character Collision":**

Nine Minus Nine:

Konoe Mercury was a woman of many names. Most of the time she is known as "Nine", but the name most recognized her as, but what followed after that remained to those who knew her at the time. "Nine of the Six Heroes". "Great Magister Nine of the Ten Sages". And if you were unfortunate enough, "Nine the Phantom".

All these names define her. And yet, simultaneously, they did not. She was as she was and that was all that mattered.

The discovery of these other worlds was something of a major shock to her system, and one that did something to give her a new lease of life. Within roughly three to four months she had constructed a good map out of the different organizations or military units within these different dimensions and their levels of relevance to her: The Shadow Operatives, Gessellschaft, The Licht Kries with their off-branch, Ritter Schild, Atlas, Amnesia, the Ground Staff Overseeing Department, the different ninja academies; Hebijo, Hanzo, Gessen, just to name a few.

Sure enough, her research was done purely with her going wherever she chose whenever she felt like it, not paying any mind to whomever she bumped into or what they thought of her. This did eventually lead her to meeting a unique man from the planet Remnant who went by the name of "Ozpin".

Their meeting lead to a fairly interesting few conversations, before eventually Nine was swayed into an arrangement. She finished scrawling her name on the blackboard, her thoughts slowing her actions down to a crawl from the mere thought of having to lay her name out. She spun around, a fanged grin on her face as she analyzed the faces of her students with her dark, luminous eyes.


	27. Nine Minus Nine

A/N: Be aware, the Nine featured in this story is Nine of the Six Heroes, not Nine the Phantom. This is sort of a "What if?" idea based on the suggestion submitted and the knowledge I understand of Nine's character. You will see the Phantom more in the future as I do have ideas in store for her. With that said, please enjoy!

* * *

Konoe Mercury was a woman of many names. Most of the time she is known as "Nine", but the name most people recognized her as, but what followed after that was dependent to those who knew her at the time. "Nine of the Six Heroes". "Great Magister Nine of the Ten Sages". And if you were unfortunate enough, "Nine the Phantom".

All these names define her. And yet, simultaneously, they did not. She was as she was, and that was all that mattered.

The discovery of these other worlds was something of a major shock to her system, and one that did something to give her a new lease of life. Within roughly three to four months she had constructed a good map out of the different organizations or military units within these different dimensions and their levels of relevance to her: The Shadow Operatives, Gessellschaft, The Licht Kries with their off-branch, Ritter Schild, Atlas, Amnesia, the Ground Staff Overseeing Department, the different ninja academies; Hebijo, Hanzo, Gessen, just to name a few.

Sure enough, her research was done purely with her going wherever she chose whenever she felt like it, not paying any mind to whomever she bumped into or what they thought of her. This did eventually lead her to meeting a unique man from the planet Remnant who went by the name of "Ozpin".

Their meeting lead to a fairly interesting few conversations, before eventually Nine was swayed into an arrangement. She finished scrawling her name on the blackboard, her thoughts slowing her actions down to a crawl from the mere thought of having to lay her name out. She spun around, a fanged grin on her face as she analyzed the faces of her students with her dark, luminous eyes.

The girl Nine saw as Ragna's illegitimate child, Ruby Rose, was sitting in one of the front rows, those silver eyes that the witch positively wanted to pluck out and admire as if they were gemstones were wide and staring right at the Great Mage. Sitting to Ruby's right was the rest of her teammates, and sitting to her left were the Gessen Academy Elite. Nine was certainly pleased with this arrangement Ozpin gave her, as it allowed her to teach not only the students of Beacon Academy, but the other Huntsmen and Huntresses in training from Shade, Atlas, and Haven, plus the shinobi from both Hanzo and Gessen. If they had been so lucky, Hebijo would be there too, but putting good and evil ninja within the same space was a bad idea. You didn't need to be a genius like Nine to figure that out.

"Hello class," she said proudly. "You may call me 'Professor Nine'. Mr. Ozpin requested that I come in as a temporary teacher to cover an exclusive course for this semseter. Although, if you happen to find it engaging enough, I... may be coming back to teach in the foreseeable future."

"Now then, shall we begin?" She walked back and forth in front of the students, one side of the room to the other, as she began to tell her story. She could feel eyes that were bearing into her with admiration or lust, not remotely minding any bit of the attention her voluptuous form was receiving, as every curve of her body jutted out against her uniform. The only part of her that was partially obscured was her face, hidden beneath the positively ginormous witch's hat that sat atop her head.

"Professor Ozpin asked me here so that I may teach you all about the types of heroics one might find in other worlds. I being a member of a particularly popular group of heroes in my own world, you will learn what it takes to protect innocent lives and overcome seemingly impossible odds from the perspective of one that has experience you may not believe. What a hero does in a seemingly unwinnable situation. Against a shadow against everything you love."

"Some of you may say that this is no different than any number of courses that you are learning already in your classes at your respective schools, but trust me, you won't be learning anything quite like this anywhere else. I'll expand your horizons to places unseen, my world to be more specific. Here, you will learn of different situations that could help to give you all some perspective you may have never considered before."

A hand suddenly shot up in the air. "Yes?" Nine asked.

"Sorry to bother you, miss," Octavia from Team NDGO of Shade asked, "but why should we be learning the history of another world?"

"Because," Nine replied, "you never know when your journeys may take you to one of these other worlds. Now that our worlds are linked there is nothing keeping you from going from one realm to another. When the day comes that you go to another place and face an enemy that defies what you have grown complacent to in yothe comforts of your own world, you must be ready to overcome these enemies. But right here, and now, you must be ready to vercome the limitations of your own mind and be ready to broaden your horizons."

The students in the class all had their eyes on her, their attention positively captivated. Nine smiled proudly at the sight of this. So far so good.

"Now," she said, "let us begin."

With a wave of her hand an image was scrawled onto the blackboard that caused a shiver to run down everybody's spine. A terrible creature so heinous and purely evil that it made the Creatures of Grimm look like bunnies. "This," Nine said, "is the Black Beast."

"A being unleashed by humanity's own ignorance. A creature of nigh unstoppable power. A true weapon of mass destruction."

"In humanity's attempts at reaching a perfect world, they only succeeded in nearly destroying the one they already had. The Black Beast didn't care about life or death or anything in-between, reducing everything in its path to utter nothingness. But those responsible for it didn't care, because they were under the impression they could merely 'reset' the world in their wake, and make it as if they had never unleashed the Black Beast."

Nine let out a sharp laugh. "Hubris," she said dryly, "is a funny thing. Because, it's only hubris if you fail. If not, it's just confidence. But this was beyond even hubris."

"The Black Beast killed everyone, before moving on to the rest of the world. No form of manmade weaponry could do anything to the Beast, and the creature left a toxic element known as 'seithr' everywhere it went. I myself had been under the impression that there was nothing that could stop the Black Beast, until a man by the name of Bloodedge changed my mind and gave me a mission; Gather the Six Heroes."

"Thankfully, I was already familiar with most of them. The strongest warriors I knew. There was Mitsuyoshi, a feared and respected warrior. Valkenhyne R. Helsing, while the butler of one Clavis Alucard, was in reality a formidable and respectable combatant whom I have no doubt would be able to severely beat down any Huntsman or shinobi you could come up with... no offense."

"But, knowing that I would need every ounce of power that I could need to stop the Black Beast, I enlisted the help of a monstrous creature called Yuuki-Terumi." As Nine had been speaking, the blackboard continued to show different images representing what Nine had described. It had shown small images of the different individuals Nine spoke of, including a hooded figure that represented Mitsuyoshi, and the strong, bearded man Valkenhyne. But for Yuuki-Terumi, it showed a sinister individual with his own hood that did little to hide the snake-like eyes and unnaturally large smile. As Team RWBY looked harder, they could've swornd that there was something... familiar about him.

"None of you know what that creature is, and I would prefer it that way for as long as I can allow it. However, all you need to know is that Terumi was an incredibly powerful... creature, that was a gleeful murderer. But his power would prove invaluable."

A hand promptly shot up in the air upon hearing Nine's description of Terumi. "Yes?" Nine said.

"Sorry," Yumi replied, "but if this monster was as dangerous as you say, how could you knowingly use him to fight? How did you know he wouldn't just kill all of you if he was as unhinged as you claim."

"Viable concerns," Nine replied. "However, I put a mind control spell over the entity. He would do only as I said, and I would not let him hurt anybody. His power was mine to command."

Another hand went up. "Yes?" Nine said.

"You say... spell," Weiss said. "As in... magic?"

"Yes," Nine replied. "Magic. If you couldn't tell from my hat, I am a witch."

"But that's..." Weiss said.

"Out of everything I've been explaining," Nine said, "you really shouldn't question magic. So please, keep an open mind and allow me to continue."

Weiss remained quiet, sitting back in her seat. "Knowing you," Weiss said quietly to her leader, "you'd no doubt believe in magic, huh Ruby?"

She looked at Ruby, jumping back in fear as she saw that Ruby was writing at such a powerful rate her pencil was actually steaming! It seemed she was hanging onto every single word that Nine was saying and was documenting it!

"After Terumi, we obtained the warrior known as Hakumen," Nine said. "A being wielding the Susanooh Unit. A weapon/armor capable of cutting through time itself."

Once more, another hand went up. Nine felt a bit annoyed, but knew that these were just kids that probably had no idea what she was talking about. "Yes?" Nine said.

"Did you say..." Ikaruga asked, "cut through time? That is not... physically possible."

"And how do you know that?" Nine asked. "Because it hasn't been done in your world yet? Just because it hasn't been done, doesn't mean it isn't possible. If that were the case, humanity would never be able to accomplish anything, no?"

Satisfied by Ikaruga's silence, Nine continued telling her story. "The last person that was recruited, was a good friend of mine from the Magic Association, Trinity Glassfille. While not a fighter herself, her knowledge in magic would prove helpful in coming up with new strategies. The last member of the Six Heroes, in case you couldn't figure it out yet, was none other... than myself. I may have mentioned that earlier, but I figured I should make it clear."

Everyone murmured in intrigue, causing Nine to smirk once again. "Together," Nine said, "the Six Heroes were now formed. While our teamwork wasn't ideal, some of them being positively insufferable at first, we would soon learn to work together. And we wouldn't be working alone."

"Because, it wasn't just us six that were involved in the war to stop the Black Beast, for all of humanity was involved as well. To help maintain order among the masses and assist wherever they could we needed to form organizations. So, I helped to form the Novis Orbis Librarium, an organization that would help lead the war efforts, alongside the leaders of different countries. They would also be trained in mystical abilities to aid as soldiers to stop the Beast. Think of them being trained with magic as how you all learn to use your Aura and Semblances or shinobi arts to fight your own monsters."

"The only problem was that magic in its purest form could not be used by simply anybody. It could only be used by certain people with latent genes and even then certain magics are rare. So to solve _this _issue, I combined technology and sorcery into what would be known as Ars Magus. Channeled through Grimoires, humanity could now fight against the Black Beast."

"But even then, all we had was a chance. We needed more. We needed a sure fire way to help do anything."

"So, I smelted together nine weapons known as the Nox Nyctores, weapons to be used by the Six Heroes and humankind to indirectly fight the Beast. Channeling seithr, they were used specifically to stop the Beast. Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa, Arcus Diabolus: Bolverk, Deus Machina: Nirvana, Mucro Somnio: Musashi, Interfectum Malus: Ookami, Arma Reboare: Muchourin, Geminus anguium: Ouroboros, Phoenix: Rettenjo, and the first and most powerful of all, Gigant: Take-Mikazuchi."

A hand went up. Figuring that it had been a few minutes she would allow this one to pass by without annoyance. "Yes?" Nine asked.

"Um, sorry to interrupt Mis-uh, Professor," Jaune said. "But... should we be... writing those down?"

Nine blinked a few times, before her gaze turned downward to the first row. "I hadn't planned on it, but I figure if I give you an assignment it'll be good to know," Nine replied. "So for future reference, I think your friend here will be able to bring them to you later."

Everyone looked down at Ruby, who was still toiling away at copying all the information! She felt people looking at her, causing her to look up and see everyone's gaze on her. Nine smiled proudly, waving casually to Ruby, who could only giggle awkwardly and wave back.

"Anyway," Nine continued. "Continuing on."

Back in their seats, Blake and Weiss had their heads reeling from the words that Nine had spoken, having been wondering the same thing that Jaune had wondered. "Half of those words," Blake said, "were so incomprehensible to me!"

"Half?" Weiss said. "I couldn't even understand any of them!"

"I blacked out awhile ago..." Yang said, her head laying on the desk, wiping a trail of blood that had been coming out of her nose from her brain malfunctioning.

Weiss turned over, seeing Yumi rubbing her chin curiously. "Yumi?" Weiss asked. "Everything okay over there?"

"I think," Yozakura replied, "she's wondering the same thing that we all are. Those words Nine-san were saying are all words that we use in Japan."

"Seriously?" Weiss asked. "How does that work? Her world is nothing like yours?"

"Maybe we should listen and see for ourselves," Blake said. The others nodded and looked forward, Yang groaning sadly.

"We have to listen to more of this existential BS?" Yang asked.

"Shh!" Ruby said.

"All the same," Nine said, "this does offer a good opportunity to ask a question for you all. Given the information I've provided, I'm curious to know if any of you can elaborate for me on the purpose behind much of what has come about. The gathering of the Six Heroes, establishing the NOL, and later crafting the Ars Magus and the Nox Nyctores."

The students all looked to one another, their minds reeling with the presented information. They had ideas, but they didn't know whether or not they wanted to bet on that. After a minute, one hand did go up.

"Yes?" Nine asked.

"You were militarizing," Pyrrha said. "Establishing new weapons and combatants to eradicate the beast."

"That's a laymen's term for it," Nine said. "But it isn't the soul reason. We were not necessarily just militarizing. Can anyone elaborate further?"

One bold hand did go up in the air. "Yes?" Nine asked.

"Well," Asuka said, "you had already used every weapon you could have. So everybody pooled together to try finding the new means to combat the Black Beast. While that man you mentioned before said to only gather the Six Heroes, when humankind as a whole came together, you helped them to find the new means to stop the Beast. You went above and beyond and had everyone united under a common goal of stopping the Beast."

"Indeed," Nine replied. "It wasn't just one force that had to stop the Beast, or even could. The world was at risk and everyone knew that. So we knew that if we were going to top this creature once and for all, we would need to be united under one flag. And everyone needed to play their part."

"Piece by piece we set this up. Could any of you relate to that? Could any of you see yourselves going through each of the motions that I had in organizing the forces to stop the Black Beast?"

Ruby threw her hand into the air, much to her teammate's surprise. "Yes?" Nine asked, entertained by Ruby's reaction.

"I could," Ruby replied. "Gathering the Six Heroes, starting with those that you trusted the most to fight by your side. You started that way, even if you didn't really trust somebody like Yuuki-Terumi, you had people you knew like Valkenhyne or Mitsuyoshi, and one of your friends in Platinum."

"Then you made sure that everyone who could would be able to help by forming the Ars Magus. You even created weapons for your side that could be used to help give you a sure fire way to stop the Beast!"

"I'm glad to see you feel that way," Nine replied. "Now then, let us see just how our efforts fared, yes?"

"Each of the Nox Nyctores had their own unique properties and constructions, but the one we really need to focus on, is Take-Mikazuchi." Nine waved her hand on the blackboard again. As she had been speaking, more images had appeared on the board like the different members of the Six Heroes and the symbol for the NOL, but as she got to the Nox Nyctores, the only one that the students saw was the one Nine had just gotten to.

Everyone jumped in shock and discomfort at the sight of the first Nox! It had a totally black body, with an almost skull-like head, covered in blood red cracks! Was this honestly one of the weapons Nine had created to stop the Beast?

"This vaguely humanoid giant," Nine elaborated, "was discovered from the remnants of an ancient, unknown war, and was repurposed as the first Nox Nyctores that all else came from, given its core. Its firepower was unrivaled throughout the entire Dark War save for the Beast itself, making it a perfect ace in the hole. We could win the war with this device."

"There was just one problem with it. Fellow members of my guild, the Magic Association, Seven and Eight, wanted to use my own sister, Celica, as a battery for it." Disturbed murmurings from the students came about as another hand went up.

"Yes?" Nine asked.

"Why?" Hibari asked. "Why would that weapon need to use your sister?"

"Because," Nine replied, "in order for it to even fire, Take-Mikazuchi would need to use my sister's lifeforce and inherent ability to suppress seithr, at the cost of her own wellbeing. Call it sisterly love, or even selfishness, I commanded that this weapon never be fired. A weapon that could have turned the tides of the entire war."

Nine was silent for a moment, letting the weight of her words flow. "So," Nine said, "what would you do? Would you fire that weapon knowing that the person you loved most in the world would have to die, if it meant saving the planet? Or would you refrain and find another way, because you knew that there was one."

Everyone was silent as they settled with those thoughts. Finally, to the surprise of her friends, Katsuragi's hand went up next. "Yes?" Nine asked.

"Sacrificing somebody for the sake of the world," Katsuragi said, "is not right. Some may say that whole 'needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few' thing, but if we just treated lives like they were measurable, life wouldn't really matter, would it?"

Nine merely looked at Katsuragi in the eyes. She didn't say whether or not Katsu's words were right or wrong, or even if she necessarily agreed or disagreed. She just went on with her story.

"What happened next for us," Nine said, "after it had been put in a year long slumber by Bloodedge's sacrifice, the Black Beast reawakened, but humanity was ready to fire back."

"Things... did not go well. For I was betrayed from within by Eight and Seven, who had been secretly repairing Take-Mikazuchi without my consent. They stripped me of my power and put the NOL in charge of the war efforts and command of Grimoires. Without my control, the giant was finished, but rather than risk my wrath once I was set free, Seven and Eight wisely did not go after my sister. So instead, they lured thousands of souls away to use as a makeshift fuel source, allowing it to function without Celica."

Nine was taken aback by the pure force of sound that erupted from the students, all of them cursing or shouting about Seven and Eight's judgement. Nine was honestly touched by the support they were demonstrating. Though, in her heart, she knew that she was also partially responsible given Eight and Seven would not have bothered with this if they had been allowed to use Celica, but Nine was certainly not willing to sacrifice _anybody _for the plan.

"Alright, alright," the Great Mage said, "listen up now! Okay? Let me continue."

"The Black Beast was headed straight for the giant, but I was able to stop its firing by breaking its core into different pieces so as to finish the other Nox Nyctores. Still having support from the rest of the Six Heroes and the Ars Magus army, they all bought me the time I needed. Several lives were lost, but I was able to distribute the finished Nyctores to get one final strike."

Everyone was on the edge of their seats as they listened intently to Nine. Even Ruby had slowed how fast she was writing as to pay attention to her professor. All of them were waiting to hear if the plan worked and if they were able to fell the Beast.

"Together, we Six Heroes launched our final attack, gaining the upper hand. Finally, after a long battle, Hakumen delivered the final blow. The Black Beast was killed, spreading the seithr that made it up across the world in something akin to a poisonous fog. The Dark War was over. Peace had been restored."

A collective sigh of relief was heard as all the students relaxed upon hearing Nine finish her tale. Nine was still touched by the happy reactions from the students. All of them looked at her expectantly, waiting to hear her continue.

What happened next, they all were thinking. How did the world change? What happened to the Heroes?

"Well," Nine said, "that's enough for today." Everyone groaned in disappointment. Nine smirked in delight.

"Okay now," she said, "prepare for your first assignment. I want you to tell me what your first moves would have been had you found yourselves in my situation, leading the war effort against a creature akin to the Black Beast. And please, if you're going to copy me, at least make it _sound _original."

"I'll see you all tomorrow my darlings."

* * *

"Aw~ This is amazing!" Ruby said. "I can see why Tsubaki loves the Six Heroes so much! Oh! That story was incredible!"

"Really?" Yumi asked. "I thought it was honestly sad. Poor Nine-San was basically alone the entire time, singlehandedly organizing the world and being betrayed, nearly losing her sister. And how can they label themselves as 'Six Heroes' when they put a monster like Yuuki-Terumi in their ranks?"

"I know, I know," Ruby replied. "But even still! You can't deny how great it is that we got to learn from a real hero like that!"

Squeeing in delight, Ruby hopped onto a pedestal and twirled her cape out behind her in a fake wind! "This is everything I want to work for!" Ruby said.

"Really?" Yumi asked. "Fighting off an apocalypse?"

"No!" Ruby replied. "Saving the world! Beating back a nigh unstoppable monster and protecting people! I mean, yeah, Professor Nine didn't really have the best story. But just imagine if we had a story with a real happy ending!"

"Me, Hyde, Yu, you-you, Heart, Tsuabki! We could be our own Six Heroes! Saving the world!"

"What about your teammates?" Yumi asked.

"Well I very well can't be the leader of Team RWBY and my own Six Heroes, now can I?" Ruby asked.

Yumi could only laugh. She was sufficiently entertained by Ruby's reactions, just pulling her chain and seeing her enthusiastic responses. She really did remind her of a more hyperactive Asuka at times, not helped by their similar appearances.

"Ah! I gotta find Asuka!" Ruby said. She proceeded to bolt, only to run into Nine's back! It honestly felt as hard as running into a brick wall given how Nine barely even flinched as Ruby ended up collapsing onto the ground!

"Oh, hello there," Nine said. "You're Ruby Rose, yes?"

"Oh, yeah," Ruby replied, having Nine help her to stand. "Thank you so much for your lesson today, Professor Nine! It was amazing!"

"Thank you kindly," Nine replied. "I'm glad you were engaged."

"Engaged? It was awesome!" Ruby said.

"Well, thank you," Nine replied. "But you have to understand, I didn't intentionally romanticize anything for you. It was all a line-up of very difficult circumstances."

"I know," Ruby said. "But you still pulled through! You beat the Black Beast and managed to prove you didn't even need that Take-whatever it was called, thing!"

"You were all amazing in the way you fought that Beast without fear! You... _you _were amazing, Professor Nine."

Nine was surprised by Ruby's response. At first, she was starting to get annoyed by Ruby's energy, feeling it slowly become more obnoxious. But the way that Ruby told her that _she _herself was amazing resonated with her.

"The way you alone organized the entire world," Ruby said, "helping arm everyone with those Grimoires and lead the charge against the Black Beast! I could only wish to be as brave and smart as you when I become a Huntress, Professor. You... you're phenomenal."

Nine felt her face light up as she heard Ruby flattering her. There was something there that felt uncomfortably familiar to her. Something she didn't quite understand until it all hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Hm?" Ruby said, tilting her head to the side a bit, curiously.

"You know what else is phenomenal?" they heard Katsu's voice say, instantly triggering dread in Ruby and the nearby Yumi!

"These titanic tatas!" Katsu said, reaching up and around Nine! However, the milisecond that Nine felt a single finger brush somewhere they should never touch, her elbow directly collided with the side of Katsu's head, knocking her solidly off her feet from the blow to her jaw!

"Just where do you think you're touching, you filthy brat?!" Nine shouted. With a stomp on the ground, vines wrapped up and around Katsu's body, squeezing her tight enough to turn her face blue! "The moment you try pulling some shit like that again you will receive endless torment from which there is no release, capiche!?"

"I have several regrets..." Katsu uttered.

"Wow," Ruby said, "she's got an even worse temper than Yang!"

"Is she allowed to do that as a teacher?" Yumi asked curiously.

"Mother, please, your temper is embarrassing me." Everyone looked to see Kokonoe approaching, lollipop in hand as per usual.

"Oh, hey Kokonoe," Ruby waved.

"Eh," Kokonoe said.

"Ah, finally," Nine said, releasing Katsu. "About damn time you got here. So, how are you my darling daughter?"

"Fine," Kokonoe replied. "I'm wondering what you called me here for, though."

"Oh, come now," Nine said, brushing Kokonoe's cheek. "Can't a mother want to see her daughter?"

Nine's eyes fell back upon Ruby, as she waved to her. "I'll see you tomorrow, darling," Nine said. "And remember to do your assignment."

Nine walked away, Kokonoe walking beside her.

"Wow," Ruby said. "I still find it weird that Nine was with... you know who, to have Kokonoe. I mean, it weirds me out, yet I can't help but feel bad to judge her for it since Jubei is as smart as a person."

"You can't judge people's kinks," Katsu said, using Ruby as a brace to stand back up.

"Well," Ruby said, "I guess not. So! Getting back to business! Who're candidates for _my_ Six Heroes?"

"What about me?" Katsu asked. "You shouldn't keep me away from those rosebuds you got hiding under that damn concealing uniform!" She held her hands out, fingers curling with desire!

"No! No! No-no-no!" Ruby said, backing away fearfully. "Katsu, you know that Yang's gonna kill you if she hears what you've done to me!"

"Haven't you learned your lesson after nearly getting killed by Nine-san?" Yumi asked.

"If there is one thing you cannot teach me," Katsu said, "it's to keep away from a woman's love-bumps!"

Ruby yelped as she proceeded to run away, her Semblance aiding in her retreat! Not far away, Nine couldn't help but look back to the Huntress-in-training with a sad expression on her face. "Please..." she said. "Don't follow through on that goal of yours. You don't want to be like me."

She began walking away, not really having a clear direction in mind. "Don't try to follow my story."

* * *

Some Time Later:

* * *

Nine found she had drifted away again as she was walking on the campus of Beacon. It was a new day. The sky was speckled with clouds that mingled with the burning sun.

She returned to her scroll, checking the photos that she had with her family. She never really took any pictures on that thing herself, but her husband or daughter would do so for her. She couldn't help but smile.

"Aunt Nine!" she heard somebody yell. She held up her left hand just in time, without even looking as she managed to snag Ruby's hood just before the younger girl could slam her with a hug. Ruby giggled awkwardly as Nine held her at arm's distance. "Hi," the girl said.

Smirking, Nine dropped Ruby onto the ground, which proved to be a mistake as the girl promptly slammed Nine with a hug! Despite being in her senior year, nearly nineteen years old, Ruby was still so full of life and youth. "Oh, it's so good to see you!" Ruby said. "Did you miss me? Did you miss me!?"

Nine smiled as she plopped a hand on Ruby's head. "Nope," she replied.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Ruby said happily.

"Ruby," Nine said, "it's barely been a month."

"But I'm still happy to see you!" Ruby said.

Nine grinned as she managed to sneak out of Ruby's grasp. Ruby was one of the only people that Nine ever found herself getting close to outside of her family. Perhaps it was because she reminded her so much of... somebody else.

"So," Nine said, "how's that hum-drum uncle of yours?"

"Oh, come on Aunt Nine!" Ruby said. "You know Uncle Qrow isn't that bad! In fact, I think he likes you!"

"That's his own problem," Nine said. "I'm a happily married woman."

"Not in that way," Ruby said bluntly.

Nine merely laughed as she continued going back and forth with Ruby, another day dead ahead.

* * *

**_A/N: This chapter was interesting since the majority of it was just a big exposition dump. But at the same time, I had fun writing it._**

**_If anyone recognizes any continuity errors or anything, please let me know, as I had outside information to help me to learn about the history of the Dark War and Nine's mission with the Six Heroes. I had a fun time having everyone else conveying their own unique reactions to the battle against the Black Beast, particularly enjoying Ruby's reaction to these events._**

**_I grew a lot of respect for Nine as a character as I did this research, and I love her character more than I probably should now XD. I really do enjoy learning more about the Blazblue world but it's just a shame that there's no manga or proper anime that summarizes the story beats of the franchise. And I simultaneously don't have the patience to watch through a cutscene compilation on YouTube since each part goes for about THREE HOURS AT A TIME!_**

**_I did that bit with Nine seeing Ruby several years later since I just found it'd be cute. Ruby connecting with Nine and essentially seeing her as an aunt is something I could totally imagine. Again, I mainly did it because I thought it'd be cute, and I now have several ideas for these time-skip moments later. _**

**_Anyway, that's it for this one! Stay tuned because in a few days from now we'll supposedly be seeing the additional characters for BBTAG next, and I have more ideas in mind in the future! Let me know what you thought, what else you'd like to see, and until then, have a good day and I'll see you later!_**


	28. Grim Messengers of Doom

In the dark of the night, though not "The Hollow Night" much to her chagrin, the woman named Hilda, known to most of the world as "Paradox" leader of Amnesia, was merely enjoying a glass of wine to herself in the large open hall of her headquarters. There were little to no other people around, which she had made sure of. For she knew that there would be special guests who were coming and they would requite her total, undivided attention.

This was the reason why, when the front door at the opposite end of the hall had been blown open, along with most of the wall, in a blast of fire and smoke, Hilda was not the least bit surprised or even looked up from her glass as she took another sip. She merely reclined further in her seat, waiting patiently as the individuals stepped through the newly formed hole.

The first individual that was standing front and center was a girl, most likely in her late teens if Hilda had to guess, with raven black hair that coiled around her face in a smokey form, with amber colored eyes and a red dress that hugged her form. Hilda honestly thought the girl was beautiful and certainly wouldn't mind if in the near future, if their relationship should grow, people viewed her as a surrogate child. But she knew that this girl was wise beyond her years and had power to spare, which she would happily use if given the chance. And she would definitely not bear the "indignity" of being viewed as second fiddle.

Her companions that ducked around her to surround the perimeter were not worth her attention, as the dark girl approached the woman in her castle from across the hall. Hilda knew her even if this was the first time they had met in person; Cinder Fall. "Paradox of Amnesia," Cinder said. "I've come for an audience with you."

"Yes, I was expecting you," Hilda said. "Pull up a chair if you can find one. I'd gladly have a talk."

"I would rather stand," Cinder replied.

"Yes," Hilda said. "I figured as much. But let's cut right to the chase, if we could."

Cinder smirked proudly. "You know why I'm here already, huh?"

"Yes," Hilda said. "You want me to join your little 'alliance.' Well, forgive me, but I'd rather not. I find working along the likes of you to be dreadfully boring."

"Is that right?" Cinder asked.

"Yes," Hilda replied. "I know what you're up to. You serve some... higher power of some sort. And while that sounds intriguing, I'm afraid I'm already taken. I have my own promise of glory, so I won't take your second-hand smoke."

"You won't even listen to what I have to say?" Cinder asked. "The secrets that I have in mind that could most certainly help you even more than what you have with your Re-Birth?"

"Hm..." Hilda hummed. "Don't know, don't care. Sorry sweety." She proceeded to snap her fingers.

Cinder didn't lose her smile, even as Hilda's companions dropped down from every dark corner upon her signal! Enkidu grabbed Mercury from behind, scooping him up in his massive arms! Chaos appeared behind Neo, aiming a hand condensed in energy behind her head, as his Void, Azhi Dahaka, prowled dangerously around her! Even Gordeau, who Hilda had lured with the claim of dangerous enemies coming to harm Amnesia, dropped in front of Hilda and stood before Cinder with his scythe in hand!

"Now please," Hilda said, "with this conversation over, I'd rather you left now, please?"

Cinder didn't drop her smile, merely gesturing with her hand. Neo nodded happily, her body shattering in glass! Chaos only had time to look startled, before she reappeared beside him, kicking him straight in the head, before doing a splits that dug her heel right into Azhi Dahaka's jaw!

Emerald raced over to Mercury, having been hidden in her illusions, shooting bolts of non-lethal Dust that dug into Enkidu's head! Mercury, now free, slammed a heel into the larger man's gut and roundhouse kicked him straight in the head!

Gordeau saw the ongoing fights curiously, before he was taken as Cinder's body began to shine with energy, particularly a glowing aura that covered her eyes! Gordeau was ready for a fight, before she merely let the energy drop. "Gotcha," she said, tapping her heels on the floor.

From out of nowhere, Azrael burst from the ground, grabbing Gordeau and pinning his arms to his sides! "Oh shit," Gordeau said, as Azrael laughed heartily, tossing the Harvester up and over his head! Gordeau shot past Cinder, who was quick to side-step around him, as Azrael chased his prey right out of the building!

"How did you convince _him _to join you?" Hilda asked, honestly curious.

"How else?" Cinder asked. "I promised him a fight."

"Eh. Fair enough," Hilda said. She was still appearing bored out of her mind, as smoke coiled up around her. The moment Cinder shot towards her faster than the eye could even track, blades of burning glass in her hand, Hilda was easily able to block with her own blades made of smoke! Hilda merely playfully tossed her hand like a conductor as she continued to drink her wine in her other hand, while Cinder slashed at her with blade after blade, even shooting up waves of fire that the Paradox merely blocked with walls of smoke!

Enkidu was not to be denied, as he continued thrashing around Mercury and Emerald! The man grabbed Mercury by the neck, punching him in the face with his other fist, condensed in dark energy! Emerald grabbed him by the neck with her sickle's chain, before slashing at his back with her other one! Mercury followed up by blasts of concussive energy that hit Enkidu in the head or the gut!

Enkidu backhanded Emerald away before catching Mercury's next kick and tossing the boy into his partner! As the man loomed over them, Emerald shot him in the face with her gun, before Mercury bounced back up and kicked him in the gut hard enough to knock him off his feet! Enkidu got back up, sending a dark fist into the ground that created a shockwave to push them back!

Chaos was baffled as he watched his opponent move. Despite his physical appearance, he was actually a skilled fighter, enough to cause Neo to be mildly impressed, having brushed him off as just a nerd. He delivered kicks or chops that kept her at a distance, but not enough to keep her from slashing at him with the blade in her umbrella at every interval she could find! She slashed at his leg, the small of his back, his cheek, or his neck!

Chaos still proved to impress as he sent a bolt of energy every chance he had as well, that Neo hastily dodged by creating illusions that he wasted his bolts on! Unfortunately, she forgot the Void that was at his disposal, which grabbed her from behind at one point, forcing her to kick up and behind her head! Azhi Dakaha got off, allowing her to bash it around with her umbrella and numberous kicks!

The agent of Amnesia was honestly impressed by her attacks! _Well now, _he thought. _That's quite some flexibility. And this ability of hers to avoid my retaliation, this "Semblance". Given time I may be able to think of a way to catch her, but I'm more concerned with where that maniac tossed Gordeau._

Turns out, Gordeau was not having a good time. Azrael was massive enough to brush off every strike that the Harvester tossed at him! Gordeau was one of the strongest In-Births in the world, but this Azrael was actually forcing him to go all out! And Azrael was clearly enjoying it.

"Yes! Yes!" he cheered. "More! Give me more!"

He lunged for Gordeau, who leapt over his head and smashed him into the ground with his scythe! "Guy," he said, "you are one nutty loon."

Azrael pushed himself back up, laughing in delight! "Well," he said, "you're certainly stronger than I was thinking. But that's good. I want more!"

He raced forward, Gordeau slashing him in the gut with his scythe! But even still, there was no blood! Just what was this guy made of?

Azrael actually snuck around Gordeau's scythe enough to send a punch against the man's cheek! Gordeau was blown off his feet and sent rolling to the ground! As he stood back up, he saw Azrael running for him, causing him to send a kick into the Mad Dog's gut, forcing him back, still laughing.

"Okay," Gordeau said, "this will definitely take longer than I thought. God I'm gonna need a drink after this."

Back with the struggle between the Fall Maiden and the Paradox, neither one of them seemed to be taking the struggle seriously. While Cinder was definitely moving more than Hilda was, she still kept that perpetual smile on her face! This did give Hilda some cause for pause, enough for her to send a wave that made Cinder flip back and around to avoid the attack, putting distance between them!

"Okay, you have me curious," Hilda said, "why the smile? Are you not really intending to beat me?"

"Oh, I do," Cinder said. "I've just been holding back to see what you can do." In response, the ground began to glow beneath Hilda's seat. Rolling her eyes and giving a groan, Hilda launched herself into the air as the explosion rocked the space where she'd been sitting just before!

"Okay," Hilda said, landing beside Cinder, "now you've started to annoy me."

Cinder continued to smile as she sent a wave of fire around Hilda's body, but the Paradox merely created a shield of darkness that caused it to fork around her body and spread to the rest of the building! The other fights, save for Gordeau and Azrael's outside, screeched to a halt as the combatants watched their respective mistress's battle!

Hilda created a sphere in the air that she dropped on Cinder's head, the Fall Maiden dodging to the side! The next strike caught her off guard, however, as Hilda sent her own upward attack from the ground in the form of a massive spike that launched Cinder into the air, before she was caught in dual blades that scissored the Maiden in midair! The blades didn't draw blood thanks to Cinder's incredible Aura, but they still hurt like hell!

"You dare to make me exert myself," Hilda said grimly. A wall of shadows appeared behind Cinder before she hit the ground, stabbing Cinder with another blade that sent her towards Hilda! "To put effort into a fight," the Paradox added.

A sword spinning like a buzzsaw was launched towards Cinder, stabbing her in the air before getting knocked to the ground! "Well now," Hilda said, "I'm not just going to take that. Do you know me?"

Cinder pulled out a vial of sand that she heated in the air, turning them into spikes that she launched at Hilda! Hilda dodged them, as Cinder stood back up, sending waves of flames that surrounded Hilda in a ring of fire! Within the circle, arrows seemed to come from all directions, forcing Hilda to dodge before Cinder tossed a blazing javelin from up above!

Hilda dodged this one too as Cinder landed in front of her in the circle of fire! Hilda was now surrounded by arrows and the javelin that had all stuck into the ground around her. With a devilish grin and a flick of the wrist, the weapons exploded, knocking Hilda off her feet and putting out the flames!

Cinder summoned another sword, but Hilda recovered instantaneously, holding her own sword of shadows out at her side! The two panted as they held their blades out to each other's necks, having exerted themselves more than they had assumed they would. Their dresses were shredded or covered in soot, bits of skin that were not scratched whatsoever exposed on their legs, sides, or arms.

"You know," Cinder said, "I never did get a chance to explain to you, I don't just let myself be the second-hand to the 'greater power' that I currently work under, either."

Hilda released a scoff. "Really?" she said.

"That's right," Cinder said. "I find the prospects of being subservient my whole life worthy of revulsion."

"Okay then," Hilda said. "Now you do have me interested. What did you have in mind for me, if I were to work with you?"

"I would have your access to aspects of the Abyss and the In-Births," Cinder said. "Your power would come in handy as our gaze spreads to Kanzakai. And, given time, you can ascend as you've longed for, to become a Re-Birth. But on your own terms."

"And how do you back that up," Hilda said, "when your organization is so small?"

"Oh," Cinder said, "whoever said that this was the extent of our control?"

Hilda grinned wickedly. "I was hoping you'd say something like that."

"Indeed," Cinder said. "Our reach stretches far out. Not just to Remnant, but beyond too. And you can see what else we have in store. So... what do you say?"

Hilda smiled to herself, as she appeared to consider her options. Her servants watched her with wide-eyes and mild concern as she finally brought her thoughts to a head. "Okay," she said. "I'll gladly offer you the support of Amnesia, Cinder."

They both promptly lowered their blades now, shaking hands with one another. As they did, Hilda pulled Cinder close so she may whisper in her ear. "But just be aware," she said, "I'll be holding you to your promise that I won't be subservient. Not to you, not to anybody."

Cinder merely smiled again. "Don't worry," she said. "I have a feeling that this will be a perfect partnership."

"Perhaps," Hilda said. "But you're gonna need a little more

With the arrangements made, Cinder's Faction left the building, with Hilda and her followers seeing them out. They saw the ongoing fight between Gordeau and Azrael, which was put to a halt as Cinder tossed another javelin that struck Azrael in the neck! Gordeau was honestly thrown by the attack, as he watched Cinder walk patiently past him.

"That's enough you dog," she said. "We're leaving."

"You don't tell me what to do woman!" Azrael said, getting back to his feet. "You promised me I'd get to kill him!"

"I promised you a fight, and you got it," Cinder replied. "Fight on your own time, not on mine. Oh, and another thing," she sent a wave of fire that shredded Azrael's face! "I do tell you what to do, so long as you have interest in getting your ideal fights."

Azrael merely groaned in exasperation as he followed Cinder like a pouting child. Hilda, sufficiently entertained by this exchange, waved to them as they left.

Chaos was taken aback as Neo walked purposefully past him, having not even been following Cinder and the others by that point. She took a moment to tug on her eye and stick her tongue out at Chaos as she left, a skip in her step. Chaos was merely befuddled by that exchange, wondering just what that girl's malfunction was.

Back with Cinder and the others, Emerald was looking to her leader with a curious and nervous look. "So... what now?" she asked.

"Hm?" Cinder questioned, seeming to be lost in thought.

"I mean," Emerald said, "what do we do now that we have Amnesia at our disposal?"

"Oh..." Cinder said, "I think that a bath and a new change of clothes is in order for me. That fight left me dreadfully dirty," she said, looking at the tears or soot on her dress. "We've done well tonight, so I feel the satisfaction of getting a chance to relax is definitely earned."

"We got Amnesia in the palm of our hands now, and if Hazama has held up his end of the bargain, we should have another viable addition to our ranks next."

* * *

In the Japan of another world, Hazama was looking at his companion as the both of them sat at a table under the light of the moon in an outdoor cafe. Cinder had trusted him to obtain this new ally, which Hazama could understand now given that the two of them were... similar. "Think about it, my friend," Hazama said. "If you work with us you'll find the world so much less... boring."

His companion, Tohru Adachi, took a sip of his drink, seeming incredibly bored. "I dunno," he said. "I tried the whole 'alliance' thing before and it didn't really work out for me."

"Oh yes," Hazama said. "That Sho Minazuki boy. Although, from my understanding, you were intending to betray them from the start." Adachi merely feigned surprise, before allowing Hazama to continue.

"We're on a different playing field, Adachi. We don't want the world destroyed. Merely, instil a little chaos. To show people what they are at their cores. To pull apart their very minds by crumbling their established order down to their foundations."

"You made a promise a long time ago to play within the rules of the world, yet not long before you said that the established order, that reality itself, was meaningless. You wanted to turn the world into Shadows... and really... what's the big difference between people at their core and the Shadows they cast?"

Adachi was still wearing a mien that told he had no interest, yet Hazama could see behind the layers that he was thinking it over. The Serpent Fang smiled knowingly as he got to his feet and played around with his knives for a moment, before walking along. "Think about it," he said. "At least consider what side you're going to be on when the first shot is fired."

"And trust me. When the first shot rings out, chaos will flow." He waved to Adachi behind him, as the Police Dick watched him go.

Adachi couldn't help but laugh to himself as he watched him go. 'Upsetting the established order'. Really, he had no real interest in anything like that anymore. At least, not taking part in it.

True, he helped the Investigation Team stop Kagutsuchi, but that was only because he wasn't really fond in having the whole world destroyed. And now these newbies come along wanting to rip apart the multiple worlds' societies. He couldn't deny, he wanted to see how this played out, but only by watching on the sidelines.

_Whose side am I going to be on? _he wondered. _Neither. Good? Bad? I'm just gonna watch and enjoy the show._

Hazama knew this from minute one. He could see that Adachi would not play ball. Not unlike the Basilisk of the Abyss, Merkava, that Cinder had confronted before.

More or less, it was just exploring options. Seeing who may or may not be a useful pawn or a potential threat. And it very well could be the same thing with Cinder in her bit to enlist the aid of Amnesia.

* * *

Cinder reclined her head back as the soothing waters of her bath healed her skin. Tonight had been a very good night. Even if Tohru Adachi was not going to join her cause, at least he would not be a direct threat. And perhaps, with the proper manipulation, he could find some use in the end after all.

At the moment, bits were getting pulled together very well. Amnesia was now under her control, Adachi and Merkava would either stay out of their way or prove temporary benefits, everything was coming into place. Hebijo Academy was another option she would have to explore next, but according to Hazama's reports they would not be so easy to control, and may even prove themselves potential enemies. But that would remain to be seen.

Her promises were getting laid out. And her benefactors were none the wiser. True, Salem preferred to keep out of her hair and merely allow her to explore her options under the guise that she was creating a larger army for Salem herself to control. But Yuuki Terumi was another matter entirely.

Cinder knew that in the shadows, Yuuki Terumi was waiting. He had been in contact with Cinder before and the two had forged an uneasy partnership. He would offer her information that would prove useful, so long as she held up her end of the bargain and give him a body.

While Hazama made for an ideal host, his true body with the Susanoo Unit would allow for his true power to be unleashed. But she knew that with that, would come the arrogance of Susanoo believing himself to be the true one in control of their alliance. Because he thought himself a god.

But Cinder knew that the moment Hakumen was removed from the Unit, Terumi would not get one ounce of power from it. That was what Cinder truly had in mind, not just for Susanoo, but for Salem and Kuon. With Cinder's gaze ever expanding, she would take power everywhere she went. Her own empire was growing far larger than anything Salem would have assumed before. And with that power, nothing that Salem could conjure would be enough to stop her now.

Cinder would not be denied in her desire for power and for everyone everywhere to fear her. She was the Black Queen, for good reason. And she would now be the Queen of all worlds. For now, all that she sees, Cinder now conquers.

Even if Terumi did get the Unit, at least, he could prove himself useful in removing Salem and Kuon from the equation. Even if he did become a god, that didn't make him immortal, that much had been shown before. For what was a god to a non-believer?

* * *

Far, far from Cinder, another observer was keeping an eye on situations at hand. And she knew that there were great risks involved with the number of things that were stirring in the dark. With a sickening clap of her book, she took a deep breath.

"What troubles you, sister?" Elizabeth asked, leaning her head on her hand.

"Elizabeth," Margaret said, "do you not know about the situation going on?"

"Uh... no," Elizabeth said. "Not really."

Margaret scowled angrily. "I'm just kidding!" Elizabeth said. "Of course I know. But I wasn't going to do anything if you didn't want me to."

Margaret shook her head. "You were always so eager to throw yourself into harms way. Even if it wasn't your intended purpose."

"Well can you blame me?" Elizabeth asked. "With my guest no longer with us, I have to do something to fill up my time."

Margaret still looked skeptical about the situation, but Elizabeth merely waved her off. "Don't you worry sister of mine," she said, holding out her own book as a figure loomed behind her. "I have everything under control." In response, the Persona Thanatos growled hungrily.

"And I know somebody who might prove useful."

* * *

"I got it!" Celica said happily. "I finally know where I'm going! Haha! I made it!"

She lowered her map, gawking at the sight of Beacon Academy looming overhead in the distance! She was right smack dab in the middle of Vale... when she had been aiming for Hanzo Academy... in another world. She felt her eye twitch as she stared at the towering structure, as Minerva merely let out a sigh. Not far away, Heart Aino was walking through the streets of Vale before she caught sight of Celica.

"Hi there!" she said happily. She caught sight of Celica's stunned state, tilting her head to the side. "Um, are you okay there? Are you lost?"

As if a trigger had been flipped, Celica fell to her knees, throwing her arms to the air angrily shouting, "gosh darn it!"

* * *

_**A/N: Well this has been a long time coming. Yes, I teased something like this back with the chapter that focused on Merkava, and now, in the wake of the recent reveal that brought three massive villains of the different franchises together, I had **_**no **_**excuse not to finally get back to this chapter!**_

_**Okay, so for starters, I would like to comment on my reaction to the recent characters added to the BBTAG roster. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, we ended up getting Celica and Susanoo from Blazblue, Adachi and Elizabeth from Persona, and Hilda from Under Night. And I thought it was... okay.**_

_**Honestly, there was a real feeling of 'meh' from seeing that these were the fighters we were getting. Don't get me wrong, I do like most of these characters; Celica is positively adorable, Elizabeth is likeably crazy, Susanoo is interesting, and Adachi and Hilda are cool in how cruel or evil they are. **_

_**My main problem is this feels like a massive lost opportunity to expand upon the newest franchises added to the roster. I get it might be hard because they need to construct new sprites for Akatsuki, Arcana Heart (maybe), and Senran Kagura especially since like RWBY, as far as I know at least, there hasn't even been a 2D fighter for the Kagura series save for Homura's appearance in Nitroplus Blasterz.**_

_**But we could have at least gotten one or two new characters from Arcana Heart by this point! But instead we get two more Blazblue and P4AU characters and one new UNIB character, who were already swallowing the majority of the roster by that point. Plus, there's only a finite number of characters from P4AU or UNIB left before they basically ported every playable character from their rosters into BBTAG!**_

_**Again, I'm not against having these characters. I know pretty much everybody wanted Adachi in the game, plus Hilda was a fighter I personally would've been open for, and I'm sure a number of players were happy to find Susanoo, Celica, or Elizabeth. But knowing what we could've gotten instead, I did not like the exchange. Especially since this is making me nervous now that these characters will be the **_**only **_**characters we get from these three new franchises, but that's neither here nor there. We did get a new RWBY fighter with Neo, so maybe I'm just being paranoid.**_

_**Anyway, as for this chapter, as I mentioned before, I planned for Cinder to make an alliance with Hilda for awhile. And I have to say, I had a lot of fun describing the fight between these two! It was really cool getting to explain their different abilities and it was probably one of my favorite sequences I've written thus far.**_

_**I threw in Azrael because I was bringing over more villains and I figured he would be somewhat easy to explain given my research I learned about him (and by that I mean I read his wiki entry). I also felt the need to show a cute sequence between Neo and Chaos, not really intending any shipping fuel between the two, as far as I'm concerned, Neo is a sociopath, but I felt it would be cute because Neo herself is perpetually cute.**_

_**As for Adachi, given that he's one of the other major villains of the chapter, I decided that I would instead play him neutral, given that P4AU portrayed him more of an anti-hero at most. He wasn't really turning good, but he more or less just decided not to play the villain game anymore and instead live out the rest of his days in peace. Again, a good bit of that might be mostly because unlike his previous scheme, Kagutsuchi was intending to destroy the entire world as a whole. Again, I tried making the scheme of the villains alliance more appealing to him, which was Cinder's overall plan in the Beacon Arc of RWBY anyway, but Adachi would probably just be more entertained by watching it.**_

_**If anybody has any requests or suggestions in Adachi's role in the grand scheme of things, let me know. Since this whole series is just a collection of one-shots and there's no real plot, I'll just leave people able to make or critique suggestions.**_

_**I also didn't feature Susanoo because I figured it'd be wiser to more or less build up to him, and not show him outright. Not to mention, how would that even work? **_

_**And lastly, at first I wasn't really intending on throwing them in, but I figured it'd only be right to give a little shoutout to Elizabeth and Celica. I'll admit, I'm a major fan of Elizabeth so I've got nothing against her being there, she's enjoyably crazy, and I'll be damned if Thanatos isn't one of my favorite Personas just on a visual level alone and I cannot tell you how happy I am that she uses it in the P4A titles.**_

_**As for Celica, what else can be said? She's adorable. I'll also note that I was surprised to hear that she got revived - sort of - by Kokonoe (which I found by reading **_**her **_**wiki entry), so that way I don't need to think of convoluted reasons for how she's still alive, but then again I didn't bother explaining how Nine is not in her Phantom mode, but I made it clear that was the last chapter.**_

_**With that being said, time for review responses;**_

_**To BlazeBrawler39: I'll definitely explore the "date" thing between Ragna and Heart in the future. That was mostly included as a gag since, according to Heart's wiki entry, that was a thing that happened in an ArcSystem April Fool's Game, but it was never explained as far as I know. But I'd definitely find it funny to explore in the future.**_

_**To Will DeGrave: I'm going for that Definition of Evil chapter soon, don't you worry! And I'll also be doing a "cuteness is justice" bit for Yumi too, since she's too precious to be worth ignoring for too long. Also, the main reason I left out the Hebijo girls was mainly because it would be a little too chaotic to keep them in line, especially since the whole course Nine was teaching was specifically about "heroics". Don't get me wrong, I'm fully aware that the allignment between the girls in their relationships with everyone else is pretty skewed since they seem to put that aside and are genuine friends with the other girls from Hanzo and Gensen, which I'm totally down for! I was worried that might not be clear in the chapter, but hopefully that explains it a bit better.**_

_**to AmethystRibbonKnight: Yeah, I always view Ragna as the big brother of the group. I should probably dedicate an entire chapter to that the more that I think about it. **_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: This is one of the main things that I love about Ruby. She's really open and can easily befriend anybody. She's charming to the point without going blissfully happy all the time like Heart. **_

_**and to SolarS: Uh... l-let's not think about the fact that I've left Tager out! He's... he's a bit preoccupied!**_

_**Okay, to tell you the truth, I've found it impossibly difficult for me to think of exactly what to do with Tager by this point! Don't get me wrong, nothing against the guy personally, it's just it becomes pretty hard to think of scenarios for most characters in general! That's one of the main reasons why it took me until now to even throw Gordeau into a chapter, and everyone loves that guy! Including me. **_

_**This is also the main reason why characters like Carmine and Nu have only gotten quick cameos by this point. In fact, the more I think about it, I've only even mentioned Hakumen by this point too! Bottom line, I was aware of it, but I just didn't know what do with with him thus far! But I promise you, I'll do my part to give characters I've been neglecting more time in the future.**_

_**With that being said, thank you all so much for reading! Let me know what else you'd like to see in the near future! I'm actually thinking about revising older chapters, so if you have any tweaks you think I should make in there, give me a heads up and I'll see about getting to it! And until next time, since I did this in the second to last chapter, here's another preview of things to come!**_

* * *

Ruby awoke to the lovely sight of the sun shining in through the windows of her dorm room. She was so contented in her bed that it took her about ten minutes before she willingly got out and walked over to her bathroom. Stretching out the knots from her body, she set out for her morning routine. It was as she began to slowly awaken more did she realize something that caught her attention.

She tucked her hair behind her ears, before tugging it up and around her head. She wrung her fingers through her locks as a sense of dread flooded in her system. "Oh no..." she said slowly.

Before long, she exited the bathroom with a distinctly frustrated look on her face. Her other teammates were soon awakening, Yang letting herself drop from the bed and managed to stand without collapsing to the ground. She let loose a yawn as she waved to her younger sister. "Good morning, Rubes!" she said. "How's it going?"

"Bad," Ruby replied bluntly.

This caused Yang a moment of pause, looking at her with befuddled lilac eyes. "Well," she said. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Oh no," Ruby replied. "Far from it actually. I woke up great. The only problem that I have now is - _**my hair is growing out**_!"


	29. Body Horror

Ruby awoke to the lovely sight of the sun shining in through the windows of her dorm room. She was so contented in her bed that it took her about ten minutes before she willingly got out and walked over to her bathroom. Stretching out the knots from her body, she set out for her morning routine. It was as she began to slowly awaken more did she realize something that caught her attention.

She tucked her hair behind her ears, before tugging it up and around her head. She wringed her fingers through her locks as a sense of dread flooded in her system. "Oh no..." she said slowly.

Before long, she exited the bathroom with a distinctly frustrated look on her face. Her other teammates were soon awakening, Yang letting herself drop from the bed and managed to stand without collapsing to the ground. She let loose a yawn as she waved to her younger sister. "Good morning, Rubes!" she said. "How's it going?"

"Bad," Ruby replied bluntly.

This caused Yang a moment of pause, looking at her with befuddled lilac eyes. "Well," she said. "Somebody woke up on the wrong side of the bed."

"Oh no," Ruby replied. "Far from it actually. I woke up great. The only problem that I have now is - _**my hair is growing out**_!"

Yang appeared to take in what she just heard, before she let her face light up and began snickering at Ruby's response.

"Yang! It's not funny!" Ruby said.

"Y-yeah... it kinda is," Yang replied.

"No! It isn't!" Ruby yelled. "Now cut it! Please!"

Blake began sitting up in bed, her own awakening now bothered by Ruby's loud yelling. "What is going on?" she asked, having not heard clearly yet.

"Oh," Yang replied, "Ruby's just in a tizzy because her hair is growing out."

Blake looked befuddled over this, her typically grim mien now even stronger at the response she got to her question. "And what is the problem here?" she wondered.

"Because," Yang replied, "every time it gets like this, Ruby begs and screams to have somebody cut her hair for her. She positively cannot stand it whenever her hair is longer."

"Why?" Blake asked.

"It gets in the way of everything and makes it harder for me to handle Crescent Rose!" Ruby yelled. "Not to mention that it requires so much more work to wash and maintain it! No matter how hard I try it just always ends up sticky and greasy, and I have to feel that all over my head! It sucks!"

"Ruby," Blake said, "you're just overreacting. Having long hair is not an issue. Literally everyone else on your team, and most of the other girls you know, have long hair. We can all tell you that it's not an issue."

"I don't care!" Ruby said. "I hate having long hair! So please help me cut it!"

"You'd better listen Blake," Yang said. "Every time this happens I try telling her the same thing and she'll only be satisfied by having her hair cut."

"Quite," Ruby said. Noticing Weiss was being uncharacteristically quiet she looked to see that the heiress was already gone. "Where's Weiss?" Ruby asked.

"She left early," Blake replied, having gotten up and was now pulling out a new bow from her closet. "Didn't she tell you that she had something to do this morning?"

"I forgot," Ruby replied honestly. "Plus, I've been a bit distracted with my hair!"

Blake bit her tongue. "You keep complaining about it and I guarantee you that nobody is going to help."

"Don't toy with me Blake," Ruby said, unnaturally dark.

Yang hung her head, sighing heavily.

"Well you'll have to find somebody else to do it," Blake said. "I'm going out today to meet with Murakumo for another training session."

"What!?" Ruby said. "Blake, no!"

"Sorry," Blake said. "No exception."

"B-but-! But-!" Ruby said. "Y-Yang!" she added desperately.

"Eee..." Yang said awkwardly, looking away from her sister. "Y'know Rubes, I would, but Chie and Saki asked me to come along to Aki's dojo to keep an eye on Katsuragi. Because, you know, for some reason _I'm _the one that's now been put in charge in keeping that thirsty sucker under restraint every time she tries to interact with society."

"Chie and Saki can deal with it!" Ruby yelled. "Yang help me please...!"

"Nope," Yang replied, popping her 'p'.

Ruby felt her eye begin twitching as she tugged at her hair! "This can't be happening to me!" she said.

"Maybe," Blake said, finishing getting changed, "this can be a chance for you to stop being such a tomboy all the time."

"It's not about me being a tomboy!" Ruby snapped. "What does it take for you to get that I just hate having long hair!? And besides, even if it was, what's the problem with being a tomboy, huh?"

Blake blinked a few times as she looked at Ruby with a disinterested gaze. "It will be much harder for you to find a boyfriend," she said. "You'll intimidate everyone."

"How could I intimidate people?" Ruby asked.

"You're a snack, yet you wield that weapon of yours with enough ferocity to turn an entire army into mush," Blake replied. "That's enough for you to scare the crap out of everyone that blinks at you wrong."

"Well that's their problem, not mine," Ruby said. She spun on her heel, only to bump into Yang, who was holding Ruby's dress and heels from the dance. "Uh... Yang?" she asked. "What the heck are you doing?"

"Oh," Yang said, "well I just figured if you're deciding to be more feminine, you might as well look the part in every form, right? So how about we try walking in these heels, eh?"

"Do you honestly hate me or something!?" Ruby yelled.

Yang snickered as she walked past Blake, who was looking at her with a confused face. "Your sister really hates being feminine, huh?" she asked.

"Oh definitely," Yang replied.

Ruby crumpled to her knees in defeat, before curling up into a ball, her long hair now getting in her face. Blake looked at the pathetic sight with a mildly curious look. "You sure she'll be okay?" she asked.

"Oh, she'll be fine," Yang replied.

"I wanna die..." Ruby muttered.

"Just fine," Yang repeated casually.

* * *

Hyde merely stared bemusingly at Weiss as she stood in front of him. The girl in question had her arms crossed and was tapping a finger against her arm as she had them crossed in front of her chest. The In-Birth and the Huntress-in-training merely continued to look each other in the eye, neither one backing down from their staring contest.

"Since when did I become your wingman?" Hyde asked.

"Just help me out here!" Weiss said, stomping a foot on the ground. "Okay? Just... just tell me what guys like?"

"How do you not know this already?" Hyde asked.

"I didn't get out much as a kid, okay?" Weiss asked. "Pretty much the only time I've ever spent time socializing with people my age was when I first started attending Beacon, okay?"

Hyde hung his head dramatically. "Just... just get the guy-" he started, before realizing that he didn't even know who Weiss was talking about. "Okay, hold up, you gotta tell me who it is this week, is it Yu or Londrekia?"

"Yu," Weiss replied.

"Why?" Hyde asked. "I figured that Londrekia would be your ideal guy."

Weiss looked away, her face growing red. "It's just... I dunno, I found him too... boring?"

"What?" Hyde asked.

"Don't give me that look!" Weiss said. "Sure, Londrekia is polite and patient and has good manners, but I dunno... I just never clicked. I just find him so uninteresting."

"But I thought you would prefer a guy like that," Hyde said.

"Somebody boring?" Weiss asked.

"Not what I meant," Hyde replied, before adding, "well maybe uninteresting for most people, but not for you."

Weiss rolled her eyes. "I don't like putting it like that," she said. "And I certainly don't like the idea of somebody bothering me and keeping me from working, but... guh! I mainly blame Yang, Ruby, and Blake for this! Now I'm incapable of thinking about myself without somebody who will make my blood boil every now and again."

"So you're now a masochist?" Hyde asked.

"Not what I meant!" Weiss said angrily. "I mean... I just need a little more energy in my life. Somebody who will keep me from monotony. While still respecting my desires and privacy, might I add."

"I see," Hyde said. "Well, just get him what you know he likes. It doesn't matter about boy versus girl, it's just what the person likes. So... what does he like?"

"You're friends with him aren't you?" Weiss said angrily. "You should know what he likes, right?"

"Well I might be friends with him," Hyde said, "but he's a hard guy to read. I don't really know what hobbies he has! He doesn't really... say much about himself."

"Guh!" Weiss said. "Fine! I'll ask his team and see if they can tell me."

"According to Yosuke," Hyde said, "he likes fishing from time to time. I don't know if you can get him anything thoughtful though, but hopefully that helps."

"Thanks," Weiss said, turning on a heel and walking away. Hyde gave a shrug as he walked along, before bumping into Yosuke, who'd been walking alongside Naoto (Kurogane).

"Oh, sorry Yosuke," Hyde said.

"Oh, no problem little bro," Yosuke replied.

Hyde did a double take, blinking curiously at what Yosuke said. "I'm sorry, care to say that again?" he said.

"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Naoto asked.

"Oh," Yosuke replied, "couldn't you tell Kuro? Hyde's the shortest out of all the guys. So now we're calling him 'little bro' cause' he's like the little brother of the group."

"The hell are you on?" Hyde asked angrily. "Seth's still shorter than I am!"

"Yeah, but Seth's a pouty emo who never bothers hanging out with us and would just hide in the corners watching us all the time," Yosuke replied.

"He's got a point," Naoto said.

"What point? There's no point!" Hyde said. "And who was it that came up with this idea, anyway?"

"Narukami," Yosuke replied.

"Narukami you son of a-!" Hyde said, clenching his fist in rage!

"Anyway, Hyde," Yosuke said, "I was just gonna take Kurogane over here to get something to eat so he could bother socializing like a normal person. Wanna come, little buddy?"

"Screw you and everything you stand for!" Hyde said, walking away in a huff.

* * *

Ruby was in a royal tizzy. She was looking desperately for the only people who might be able to help her out in her current situation! Unable to get any help from her teammates, Ruby had made a call to Asuka and Yumi to see if they could help. They were out at the moment, but said that she could find them in the shopping district not far from Hanzo Academy. So, prepping herself as best she could, Ruby made a beeline straight for them!

Much to her enjoyment, Ruby heard that they would also be shopping with Naoto (Shirogane) and Noel, which made things even better for Ruby! Naoto wore her hair not unlike the style that Ruby prefers, meaning that it would be more than likely that she would be able to help Ruby in styling her hair the way she likes it! Soon enough, she found the girls walking around, racing straight for Naoto and tackling her from behind with enough force to nearly cause the shorter girl to crumple right off her feet!

"Oh Naoto!" Ruby said sadly. "It's dreadful! Seriously dreadful!"

"Ruby-chan!" Naoto said in surprise. "What in the worlds is wrong with you?"

"I need your help! You may be the only one I can turn to for help!" Ruby said dramatically.

"What?" Naoto asked again.

"I need you to help me cut my hair!" Ruby said, tugging on her locks and getting directly into Naoto's face. The Detective 'Prince' squinted in confusion at Ruby's behavior, not the least bit entertained by her antics.

"What?" she asked.

"You heard me right!" Ruby said. "This is a state of emergency! My hair is getting too long, and you are the only one that can help me since the rest of my team is behaving like a bunch of useless, good for nothings! Will you help me!?"

Asuka laughed. "Is that what you were calling me about, Ruby?" she asked.

"I have to admit," Yumi said, "in the time I've known Ruby, she certainly has a few antics."

"Ruby-chan," Naoto said, "I think you just need to relax. Having your hair growing longer is nothing to overreact about." She took off her hat and looked at her own minuscule blue hair. "In fact, I've actually been thinking about growing my hair out, now that I've been more confident in expressing my gender."

Ruby grabbed Naoto by her collar, looking into her eye with immeasurable fury! "Nope, nope, nope, nope, nope," Ruby said dangerously. "Not gonna happen!"

"Yeesh Ruby," Asuka said, "why are you so against this?"

"Having long hair is my ultimate weakness!" Ruby said. "I just cannot stand it! It sucks the very life out of me every time it happens! And the worst part is that it grows out so fast! I have to do this literally every month!"

"Ruby," Yumi said, putting an encouraging hand on her shoulder, "are you really so adamant about it? I mean, don't you think that you should give it a shot?"

"Yeah!" Noel agreed. "I mean, you look really nice with your hair longer like this." Asuka nodded in agreeance.

"It's not about looking good," Ruby replied. "I just hate the feeling! I've tried letting my hair grow out, and I cannot stand it."

"Uh... Ruby-chan?" Noel said. "I think it might not be my place, but I think we all have aspects about our bodies that we're not happy about. For example, I... I have my chest. I'm not particularly happy about the... size, which has caused people to mistake me for a boy."

"Really?" Ruby said, honestly flummoxed. "But Noel, you're pretty! Like, way prettier than I am." She proceeded to point at Naoto. "And at least your chest is bigger than hers."

Naoto flinched under the weight of that response. "How do you expect me to help you if you up and insult me like that!?" she said in anger.

"You certainly were not acting like you were going to," Ruby replied.

"Actually," Yumi said, holding up a finger, "according to Chie and Rise, Naoto actually has among the largest breasts in her team."

"Wait, what?" Ruby asked, looking utterly befuddled. Her gaze proceeded to fall upon Naoto's chest. "But... how? You don't... show anything."

Naoto felt her face heat up angrily. She shot a glare in Yumi's direction, causing the icy shinobi to falter. "Oh," Yumi said, "was I... not supposed to say that?"

"If you must know," Naoto said, "I wear binding in effort to make myself _appear _like a boy for the sake of my career. But as I stated, now that I've begun to open up more, I may stop. It's just out of habit I continue to do it."

"Oh Naoto, that isn't healthy," Asuka said.

"I understand it can damage my health," Naoto said. "But how do you know that, Asuka?"

"How else? Katsu," Asuka said. "She knows pretty much every fact about boobs that you can find on the internet."

"Okay, can we stop talking about breasts!" Noel said. "This... this has terribly escaped the point! And I apologize for bringing it up."

Yumi let out a laugh as she put a hand to Ruby's shoulder. "Tell you what, Ruby," she said, "I'll help you cut your hair. If it will really make you feel more comfortable."

"Thank you Yumi!" Ruby said in relief. "Ugh! You're a life saver!"

Naoto rolled her eye. In doing so, her gaze fell upon Hyde as he was walking past. "Oh, Kido-kun," she said, "what brings you out here?"

"Hm?" Hyde said. "Oh, I was just heading to Hanzo. Something about Linne 'borrowing' one of Ikaruga's scrolls, and now she really wants it back."

"I see," Naoto said.

Hyde looked around, catching sight of Ruby, before looking rather surprised. "Ruby? You growing out your hair?" he asked.

Ruby's body turned white as a sheet, slowly turning to see Hyde. "Uh... y-yeah," she replied. "W-well, not on purpose. I-I just... i-it was growing so n-now I'm gonna... I-I'm gonna cut it back."

"Oh, okay," Hyde replied, looking her over at different angles. "Y'know, it actually looks good. You should consider keeping it like that if you want. I mean, if you really want to cut it, that's fine. I'm just saying, it looks really nice on you."

He waved to everyone, before walking back on his path. Yumi gave a laugh as she watched Hyde leave. "See Ruby?" she said. "Even Hyde agrees that your hair looks good."

She looked to Ruby, before leaping a foot in the air at the sight of Ruby's entire head having turned as red as her famed cape!

"R-Ruby!" Asuka said. "A-are you okay?"

Ruby did not respond.

"Oh no! Ruby broke!" Noel said.

"How did she manage to faint standing up?" Naoto asked.

Not far away, Hyde was continuing on his walk before bumping into Akatsuki going in the opposite direction. "Oh, hey Akatsuki," he greeted. "Still 'investigating' everything you can?"

"In a manner of speaking," Akatsuki replied. "For now, I'm trying every delicacy I can. That Yozakura girl just offered some decadent dishes for me."

"Ah," Hyde said.

"I would like to continue this discussion," Akatsuki said, patting Hyde on the shoulder, "but I must be off. Until we meet again little brother."

Hyde felt something crack inside of him as Akatsuki walked away at a decent peck. "God freaking dammit!" Hyde yelled. "What is with that!? Narukami, if I find you I'm going to kill you!"

* * *

Far from where this was going on, Yu Narukami let out a sneeze. "I feel as if I've just been threatened," he said grimly.

"Hm?" Elizabeth asked curiously, through her smoothie. "Oh really? So soon?"

"I don't know if I like the way you said that," Yu said, looking at her from across the table they were sitting at in the outdoor cafe.

"Oh you get used to it," Elizabeth said.

* * *

_**A/N: This was just a quick chapter I came up with just to tide you guys over. Now, I will say, that the next chapter will be the long awaited arrival of the Hebijo Girls, so don't you worry for those that have been waiting for that one.**_

_**As for this chapter, this pulls together a comment by AmethystRibbonKnight who suggested that the other guys refer to Hyde or Seth as 'little brothers' given how short they are compared to the rest of the guys, and a headcanon idea of mine that I had for Ruby, which is that she positively hates having long hair.**_

_**This is based on a piece of fanart of Ruby with **_**REALLY **_**long hair begging Yang to cut it, which also lead me to find one I really like of just Ruby holding her hair and muttering "you cannot be serious" with a really confused face. (I also found this really cute one of young Yang and Ruby, with little baby Ruby chewing on Yang's hair and Yang looking horrified.) You should really look at all those pictures, they're really cute and really cool!**_

_**The idea of Ruby hating her long hair is just too adorable for me to bother passing up, so I knew I had to do something with it. I have to admit, I made myself chuckle a few times at Ruby's pure desperation, as it really feels like the grim reaper is clawing at her back with her reactions! **_

_**Also, as a part of the joke, back when I was working on different project ideas my friend suggested the idea of the others mocking Ruby with her being more feminine now, which is another headcanon idea I had. Ruby hates being overly feminine, hence why she hated walking in heels during the dance episode from Vol. 2, and begged to put her hood back on. I guess after treating Ruby like a sweet marshmallow this whole time it was about time I started busting her chops a bit more.**_

_**As for Hyde, I dunno. It was mostly just a few quick gags made for fun, which it was, consisting of others busting his chops too. And I could totally see Yu teasing him with something like that, hence why I had him come up with the idea.**_

_**I came up with the Weiss and Hyde interaction on the fly, treating them more like frustrated friends again, which is an idea I can safely say I now really like, and this more or less was a way of me announcing I'm going back to shipping Weiss with Yu. The whole reasoning was covered in the interactions. Nothing against Londrekia, but probably just because we've yet to really see him in action, he's just uninteresting as it is now. And even after we already see him in action, let's be honest, nothing can surpass the awesomeness that is the Kingpin of Steel.**_

_**Now for one last thing, I am asking for suggestions for a totally different project, so for those of you who don't care about leaving suggestions or about this franchise in general, stop reading now. With that said, anybody watch My Hero Academia?**_

_**Considering the time that is going on right now for the franchise, with the 4th season set for release, a new My Hero One's Justice game, and a new movie, I figured this would be the best time to ask: What franchise(s) should I make a crossover for?**_

_**I'm not gonna lie, My Hero Academia is a really awesome series and one I've fallen in love with, and I would love to do a crossover series for it, but I've unfortunately been unable to find the way to do it. I have an idea I'd like to do for a concept, but I just can't execute anything because I want to do something that feels natural, and will satisfy myself as a fan of the franchise and somebody that cares deeply about it. **_

_**So, if you have a suggestion for what would make a good crossover for My Hero Academia whether it be with a single series or numerous ones, please let me know in a PM or review if you can. It would really help me since I've basically ran myself straight into a brick wall more times than I can count with this! XD**_

_**Anywho, thank you all for reading, let me know what suggestions you'd like to see, and until next time, have yourselves a fantastic night!**_


	30. The Definition of Evil

If there was one thing that Ozpin, headmaster of Beacon Academy, was probably expecting, it was trouble. Naturally, his gaze had turned to the numerous individuals of the worlds, including their interactions with his students. He happily welcomed numerous students from the other worlds, or even officials from different organizations, to see his academy. For these reasons, he knew that a particular group that would most certainly be troublesome would be the students from Hebijo Clandestine Girls Academy.

He'd been warned by the girls from Hanzo or Gessen that these girls could be a bit of... a handful, which is one of the main reasons why he decided not to have them present in Konoe Mercury's lecture on "heroism". Still, they also said that these girls weren't quite as "evil" as their labels may indicate. So he still welcomed them on campus all the same, allowing them to take classes and learn about Remnant, giving them a chance to experience Vale's prided melting pot of culture. Be that as it may, for future reference, Ozpin knew that he would have to lay some better ground rules.

That's the reason why Miyabi found herself leading her classmates to the office of the headmaster that day. She honestly wasn't surprised to be quite frank. She had a feeling that Beacon would be a preppy school with little backbone. While Miyabi did her part to remind her team that they were guests and to not take advantage of the privilege they were receiving, she knew she could do little to keep them in line.

Ryobi was a sadist, taking pleasure in violently assaulting other people. Ryona was the polar opposite, and was a masochist, taking pleasure in _being _the one abused. Murasaki was as fragile as a piece of glass, and when broken, would be full of murderous intent that would only be satiated by killing the offender. Pretty much the only one that wasn't an immediate threat was Imu, and that was only because she was so deadset obsessed with Miyabi that it pretty much made her a complete idiot.

There was little, if anything, that could be done to keep them in line. So it came as little surprise to her that Miyabi now found herself and her etam were moved to the office to meet with Ozpin. She didn't really understand what could be done after this to ensure that her team kept in line, but it was sure to be entertaining.

The elevator soon sounded, indicating they'd reached the top. The five stepped out, finding Ozpin sitting behind his desk, with Professor Goodwitch nowhere to be seen for once. Miyabi still couldn't get over how the headmaster's hair was almost a complete mirror image of her own, actually causing Miyabi to check her own hair in a question to see if there was anything she could do to make it less masculine. Sitting in one of the many seats lined in front of Ozpin's desk, was Suzune, the teacher of the Hebijo girls that had obviously been called for the same meeting.

"Thank you all for coming," Ozpin said. "I hope that this will be the only time I have to call you in here for something like this. As well, I hope that you understand what reasons I have for calling you here."

"You find our behavior unacceptable," Miyabi replied, taking a seat alongside her teammates.

"That's correct," Ozpin replied.

Ryobi let out a scoff, indicating she was obviously not taking it, as Murasaki clutched Bebeby closer to her chest. Ozpin shot a look in Ryobi's direction, but otherwise did not react. Imu merely shook her head while elbowing Ryobi in the side, silently telling her to show more respect.

"Now then," Ozpin said, "I understand that you come from an environment quite unlike our own. That is something your companions have made very clear to me. However, I had discussed with your teacher here, Suzune, beforehand to make sure that it would be made clear that I would not be accepting certain conduct on our campus."

"Oh yeah?" Ryona asked, unfortunately choosing to speak, "what proof do you have?"

Ozpin did not change his expression as he pulled out a folder and set it on the table. "First off,"he said, "Miss Ryobi, caught spanking visiting student Reese Chloris from Shade with a riding crop during a mission in the Forever Fall Forest."

"She asked for it," Ryobi muttered, eliciting another, harder, elbow in the side by Imu.

"And for your other half, Ryona," Ozpin said, "also had somehow managed to hogtie herself with barely anything on during what was supposed to be a training exercise, and was quoted with saying, 'hit me! Punish me! I've been bad!'."

Miyabi rubbed her eyes as Ryona visibly seemed to take no issue in what was just said. Ryobi was about ready to throttle Ryona, but did not act upon her visible frustration.

"Miss Murasaki," Ozpin said, "nearly murdered the entirety of Team CRDL after nothing more than an insult for carrying her bear around campus."

Murasaki did not reply, but did bury her face in said bear.

"Miss Imu," Ozpin added, "nearly choked the life out of Coco Adel for getting into an argument over who was 'hunkier' with your team leader being the central focus for your rage."

Imu's face reddened as Miyabi continued to look downtrodden at the ground. "And as for yourself, Miss Miyabi," Ozpin said, "after winning a sparring match with Nora Valkyrie, you continued fighting on after her Aura was already in the red, resulting in you cutting her leg open."

Miyabi looked away, not making eye contact with the headmaster.

"Now, once again," Ozpin said, "I knew going into this there may be some... difficulty, hence why I'm not going to punish you all too severely for this. However, I add that it's barely been a week. So going forward, I hope that you can all reign it in. This behavior will only be tolerated so far until I'm forced to ask you all to leave. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Professor Ozpin," the Hebijo students said. "Sorry Professor Ozpin."

"Good," Ozpin said. "You are all dismissed. And I hope you behave yourselves out there."

The girls all got to their feet, bowing respectfully to the professor, before making their way back to the elevator. Suzune, who had not said a word, remained in her spot until the girls all boarded the elevator. Ozpin shot her a curious look.

"You wish to speak, Miss Suzune?" he asked.

"Yes," Suzune replied. "I was just wondering why you are so quick to discipline my students, when it seems that you have little leeway in doing the same for your own?"

Ozpin raised a brow. "Whatever do you mean?" he asked.

"You see," Suzune said, "I've noticed a disgruntling pattern with your students. They're don't have the stomach to do complete your mission."

Ozpin narrowed his eyes. "And I feel," he said, "that this is a conflict of outlooks. Of moral codes, and I think that this finishes our conversation."

"Not quite," Suzune said. "I respect you Ozpin, I truly do. I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your words, you have so much more age and experience than I could have dreamt of having. Yet, despite this knowledge, you don't push your students to their limits."

"In many ways, we're quite alike. Our schools both train our students for the sake of destroying monsters that have the capacity to destroy everything. You fight Grimm, we fight yoma. The only difference lies in the fact that while my students have the stomach to push through and eliminate their opponents with steely resolve. Very well aware that the fight could end their lives."

"And who's to say that mine are any different?" Ozpin asked. "Have you ever seen any of my students on a real mission? Have you ever born witness to the fights they have gone through, with real lives being lost and nearly perishing themselves? I have."

"I never said they didn't," Suzune replied. "I'm very well aware that your students have fought and nearly died. And that's the problem."

"These... Creatures of Grimm. I've gotten into a fight with them once or twice, and I must say, they're rather underwhelming. The power they possess is nothing compared to the yoma in my world."

"The yoma have the strength to fell even the strongest of shinobi and consume their flesh. These Creatures of Grimm could be beaten even by a novice."

"You merely say that," Ozpin replied, "because you haven't seen the true brunt of the Grimm's power. The Grimm may come in different shapes and sizes, but their power is not to be laughed at. The worst of them merely bide and wait until the time to strike, and when they do, they leave nothing left."

"The Grimm are quite unlike these yoma that you fight against. I hear that your yoma are born of the worse of humanity's souls. The Grimm target and destroy humankind, drawn to every negative emotion that ever is. The yoma may have at least been born from humans, yet the Grimm are nothing of the sort. They're like a plague that eliminates everything in its path. And I have no doubt in my mind that if the yoma and the Grimm were to meet, the Grimm would slowly but surely overwhelm and destroy your yoma without cessation."

"We tell our Huntsmen the truth about the Grimm. While you wait until it's almost far too late to warn your ninjas about the yoma. Why bother wasting time when you could be training them for what is allegedly the real fight?"

Suzune narrowed her eyes as she looked at Ozpin across the desk. "Perhaps you have a point," she said. "But perhaps, you could also be wrong, and my students only learn this fact after they've already been hardened to the point that not even a sword could cut through their resolve."

"Which you do through abuse," Ozpin said. "You beat them, bleed them, and push their bodies beyond the physical limit of what they are capable of. I don't condone torture. Nor do I feel it required to teach my students about the idea of what it means to take a life. While you train murderers."

"So you don't teach them about the cold, harshness of the world," Suzune said pointedly.

"Quite the contrary," Ozpin replied. "I know most of my students have already been through it. That's just the world we live in, Suzune. Life in Remnant may seem fantastical to some of you from these other worlds, but it is not a fairy tale."

"That's why we teach our students to fight the Grimm. While I suppose your yoma are less... obvious. Because you shinobi operating in secret, or some such."

"So you don't bother keeping their lesson going," Suzune said. "You don't push them through the pain and trauma they'll face out of these walls. While you may like to believe otherwise, you can't always protect them."

"And you couldn't be more wrong," Ozpin said. "Like I said, they have fought and they have bled, and they have had to go through seeing people die."

Suzune looked at Ozpin in the face for a moment once more, before she replied. "And perhaps," she said, "that's where this problem comes in. You let your students see these things, but merely give them pats on the back and say, 'come now. it'll be okay'. You don't make them embrace the pain and the harm."

"While you wouldn't turn a head to letting people be traumatized," Ozpin said.

"It makes them stronger," Suzune said, "you can't deny that. By continuing to let them face the pain and learn how to accept it, they will be unfazed in the future. They will shed their vulnerabilities."

"But by doing so," Ozpin said, "you also remove their own capacity for empathy. You create 'evil shinobi' by having the pain and the torment become their life, not simply learn how to be overlooked."

"I know the definition of these 'evil shinobi' that you train, and I know you aren't as evil as you let on. You fight for the sake of the world just as much as the good. Yet you still feel the need to break down your student's spirits."

"And that's where _you're _wrong Ozpin," Suzune said. "By embracing their pain, they do learn how to move past it. They do learn to forgive and forget and move forward in life. By embracing their pain, they learn how to support each other."

"In this 'time of peace' you have created, you have grown complacent. You have grown arrogant. You believe your kingdoms cannot fall, so you don't bother making sure your precious students have the ability to fight for the future you've set out to ensure."

Ozpin looked Suzune in the eye. "Perhaps," he said, "I hope they never have to. Perhaps I'd prefer to think that the sins of the past do not have to become the burdens of the future."

Suzune and Ozpin continued to look to one anoter with powerful gazes, before they found they could not maintain eye contact anymore. "I never truly doubted you, Ozpin," Suzune replied. "I was merely curious about your own teachings."

Ozpin gave a harsh smile. "You could have found a better way of coming to me about it," he said.

"I'm evil, what do you expect?" Suzune replied. "But truth be told, I was wondering just what I might do in your situation with hindsight. What if the yoma did overwhelm my planet the way your Grimm have overrun if the way of the shinobi as it is now has crumbled apart around me."

"And I should hope," Ozpin said, "it never comes to that. I should hope that the sins of our past, don't become the burdens of our otherworldly neighbors too."

Suzune gave a smile to Ozpin too. "So..." she said. "How about we change gears and make this conversation more cordial. Coffee?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Ozipn replied.

* * *

Miyabi and the others walked down the halls of Beacon Academy, determined to go about their day. They got odd looks from many of the different students, all of whom had either experienced or at least heard of the tormenting behavior of the Hebijo students. The girls ignored them, and continued on their paths, before splitting off at one point or another.

Miyabi walked on her own for a minute, merely taking in the entirety of Beacon Academy as she did. This campus was so full of life and energy it was almost blinding. It left her feeling incredibly conflicted in her heart.

She always knew that she would have to fight for the sake of upholding her family's honor. To eliminate the sickening yoma that took her parents, evil shinobi, from her. The path of the evil shinobi was not a lovely one, but she knew that it was the path she would have to live on. With every ounce of pain, shame, and trauma that came with it.

Yet looking at Beacon, with how beautiful it was, with all the students having fun around her despite the shadow of their mission to destroy the Creatures of Grimm, this plague of parasites that was constantly growing, it left her feeling a sense of longing. She wished she could have something not unlike that, without having to be burdened with her life's goal.

A distressed sound caught her attention, cutting off her thoughts and causing her to look to her right! She saw that it was the embarrassment that called himself Jaune Arc, who had been grabbed from behind by the pervert Katsuragi. She was kissing and biting his neck, obviously causing him some distress.

Not far away, Ruby Rose ran over and tried to break it up, managing to split them apart! Katsuragi leapt at, and grabbed, Ruby in turn, but the Huntress's Semblance allowed her to get out of her grasp before any of the predictable groping could go under way! Turns out, there was actually a great number of their other friends nearby.

Naoto Kurogane was sitting against a tree, with Yang Xiao Long holding him by his wrist, appearing to be forcing him into this social interaction. Not far away, Yosuke Hanamura was repeatedly poking Hikage from Homura's Crimson Squad in the cheek. Closer still, Homura herself and Yu Narukami were sitting and watching this interaction.

"So..." Homura said. "Why are you doing that?"

"This girl has no emotions," Yosuke replied, "so I'm just seeing how far I can go with this."

"And how does Hikage feel about that?" Yu asked.

"I don't care," Hikage replied with a shrug. "I guess so long as he's enjoying himself, it doesn't matter."

Jaune dropped down beside Yu and Homura, sighing heavily.

"You okay?" Yu asked.

"That girl..." Jaune said, referring to Katsuragi, "is too much for mankind to handle..."

"Aw~" Katsu said, holding Ruby by her hood. "I love you too, blonde-buddy." She looked back to Ruby with hungry eyes, causing the silver-eyed girl to falter. "Now then," she said, "about those little petals you've been hiding down there~"

Next thing, a blast from Yang's Ember Celica slammed her in the side of the head, forcing her to let go of Ruby's hood and fall to the ground! "Why? Every time?" Yang asked. "Seriously? Is it because we look alike? Is that it? Is that why I'm always the one that has to bother keeping you from sexually harrassing all of my friends?"

"I like to think of it," Naoto replied, "as some cosmic entity having a sense of humour."

"Yeah Yang," Ruby said. "Cause' you mess around most of the time, something out there has decided to keep you in line."

"Excuse me?" Miyabi asked Ruby, causing the Huntress in training to look up curiously.

"Yes?" Ruby replied. "Can I help you?"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Miyabi replied, "but I was wondering if I could talk with you for awhile, Ruby."

Ruby blinked a few times, looking Miyabi up and down. She had naturally heard of the Hebijo Girls from the other students, which caused her a moment of pause. She was pretty intimidated by them, particularly Miyabi, seeing that she was the leader of the group. But eventually, Ruby decided that it might be best that she just confront this herself instead of trying to avoid it.

"If you say so," she said.

"Good," Miyabi replied. "Just follow me."

Ruby was lead away by Miyabi, the red hooded girl keeping quiet as Miyabi walked. One of the main reasons why she found Miyabi so terrifying was the fact that Miyabi was a girl with an aura that overall just left anyone with a feeling of being attracted, yet simultaneously made you want to avoid her.

From what Ruby had heard from Asuka, Yumi, or even Katsu, most people seemed to describe Miyabi as a 'hunk' whether or not they knew she was a girl (although, another thing she'd heard of was that many people made the mistake of assuming she was a boy, and that's something she's pretty sensitive about). And to be quite honest, Ruby could kind of understand why.

It wasn't just the fact that Miyabi kept her hair fairly short, (Ruby wondering if she hated long hair as much as she did,) but it was also the fact of how her face appeared. Her eyes were narrow, but gave a bold gold color that rivaled Blake's, but seemed to fire off even stronger. Her features were rigid, but in a manner that seemed to accentuate her face instead of appear unattractive. Overall, she was somebody worthy of admiration on a physical level alone, and that is what made Ruby terrified.

"You're staring at me," Miyabi said.

"H-huh?" Ruby said, feeling her face heat up.

"It's alright, I don't mind," Miyabi said. "I was just wondering why."

"O-oh," Ruby said. "I-it's nothing, really!"

It could've been a trick of the light, but Ruby felt that Miyabi had smirked for a quick second. "So Ruby," Miyabi said, "I wanted to talk to you about something."

"O-okay," Ruby replied. "And what is that?"

"You see," Miyabi said, "I was just wondering, what you feel about these Creatures of Grimm."

"What do you mean?" Ruby asked. "They're monsters. We have to destroy them before they destroy the world."

"I understand," Miyabi replied. "And in my world, we have a similar relationship with the yoma. But I was just wondering if there was a... personal vendetta against them."

Ruby blinked a few times as she let Miyabi continue. "In my world," Miyabi said, "my mother was murdered before my eyes by a yoma. That filled me with hatred, and for years afterwards I would train non-stop to become a Kagura, the highest rank of a shinobi, so that I may destroy every yoma in an act of revenge."

"I would have most assuredly died had I not been given a reality check by my teacher, Master Suzune. That, and having formed a bond with the rest of my team. Learning the values of having somebody to lean on, and in turn, be able to protect, is what truly gives a shinobi power to rival anything. I still want to become a Kagura, and I still want to eliminate the yoma, but I'm not consumed by these emotions anymore."

Miyabi met Ruby's eyes, seeing nothing inside to let her in on what Ruby may have been thinking of. That may just be because Ruby's eyes were so full of wonder and intrigue thanks to the abnormal but admirable color of silver that they were, but it was hard to tell. "So Ruby," Miyabi said, "how do you feel about the Grimm in your world? Do you have a similar relationship with them?"

The truth was, Miyabi had known full well about Ruby's history. She knew exactly what had happened to Ruby's family, but was just trying to handle it in a manner that wouldn't make it obvious. She didn't want to run the risk of jeapordizing their relationship if Ruby knew that Miyabi had been spying on her and the others.

"Well," Ruby said, "not really."

Miyabi raised a brow. "Really?" she asked.

"Yeah," Ruby replied. "I guess... I mean, I had something similar happen to me. I lost somebody to the Grimm, but I'm not alone. I know that millions of people, even some of my closest friends, all lost someone or something precious to the Grimm. And I guess, that's why I don't have any hatred in my heart."

"It makes me sad to know that somebody I loved died, and I still miss them every day of my life, but I know that is why people like me have to fight. That's why the world has to have Huntresses and Huntsmen. So that other people don't have to be hurt or killed."

Miyabi had to admit, that was admirable. With the mere flip of a coin Ruby could be how she was now, or end up like how Miyabi was, so consumed by her own personal hatred and anger over her mother's death. It was merely a sense of perspective that changed her decided fate.

"But now I'm wondering, Miyabi," Ruby said, "why are you asking me this?"

"What do you mean?" Miyabi asked.

"I mean," Ruby said, "why are you asking me about this? Aren't you a... you know, 'evil' shinobi?"

Miyabi smirked. "I might be evil," she said, "but I'm still human."

Ruby raised a brow. "I don't get it," she said. "If you're evil, you should be... you know, evil. Like, 'muahaha! I'm gonna kill everybody and take over the world!' That kinda thing."

Miyabi barely kept herself from bursting out in laughter over the voice that Ruby used! She struggled to breathe until she finally replied. "W-well," she said, "evil is really subjective."

"I may be evil, but only because I operate outside of the law. Because I'm not afraid to take a life for a high enough price. Because I do things that others would shun and deem as 'immoral.' I operate in morals that differ from what the rest of the world wants."

"I am evil, because that's what the world refers to me as." Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Are you sugarcoating it?" she asked.

Miyabi sent her a smirk. "I'll let you decide," she said. "Tell me, quite honestly. By looking at me, would you describe me, in your own words, as evil?"

Ruby looked at Miyabi, recalling how the others had described her. It was honestly something odd that Ruby had thought initially that "good shinobi" like Asuka or Yumi were good friends with evil shinobi like Miyabi and her team. Even the idea that they were friends with now renegades like Homura and her team was something that left her somewhat confused.

But they had such good things to say about her. While she was dramatic and stoic more often than not, she was still... well, a girl, from what they described her as.

But looking at her now, eye-to-eye, Ruby was able to read her the same way she did with anybody. And she was able to see that which the others were able to. "I think," she said, "that you remind me of my friend Blake."

"She has a mission that she has to fulfill. But she knows that there are many out there that would hurt her or mistrust her because of it, she knows in her heart that it is the right thing to do, and that is what keeps her going. While you two are not necessarily the same, your mission is... a little more questionable, I can tell that you're both the same in the fact that you don't really care what other people think of you. Because you know, in your heart, you're doing what you think is right. And I can admire that."

"But I may never get why you call yourself 'evil'. I thought that evil was just... you know, evil. I don't really think you're evil at all. And not just what I think is evil, but real evil. Plain and simple."

Miyabi walked forward, and pinched Ruby's cheek. "I'll admit," she said, "you are something else, Ruby Rose. You always see the best in people while never compromising your own beliefs. But I still haven't decided yet if that is admirable, or just naive."

"Hey!" Ruby said, forcing Miyabi to let her go.

Miyabi laughed as she now ruffled Ruby's hair. "You say I remind you of your friend," she said. "Well, you remind me of one of mine: Asuka."

"I've heard that a lot," Ruby said, smacking Miyabi's hand away again.

"And it's true," Miyabi replied. "You both have such... light inside of you. You have a spirit that is never nulled or silenced. You are the ones that stay true to yourselves all the time."

She suddenly grabbed Ruby's hand as she lead her back to the others. "I have a feeling," she said, "that we'll get along quite a bit. Perhaps I can help broaden your horizons on the evil in the world."

* * *

Yang suddenly let out a sneeze, her eyes scanning around skeptically.

"You alright there?" Naoto asked, having reclined back and began resting his head on Yang's shoulder. On her other shoulder, Katsu had finally managed to calm down and was resting up herself.

"Yeah," Yang replied. "I just have a sneaking suspicion that something sinister is in the air related to my little sister. As if she's begun having a bad influence sneaking in." Her eyes continued to scan, before she saw something that caused her to to gain an amused expression.

"Yokee," Homura said, "quit poking Hikage's cheeks already! It's starting to bug me!"

"What? It's not like she cares!" Yosuke replied.

"It's true," Hikage replied.

"See?" Yosuke asked.

"Hey, let me get a turn eventually!" Yang said.

"No!" Homura said.

* * *

Epilogue:

Weiss was walking down the halls of Beacon, a very befuddled expression on her face. "Huh," she said.

"Hm? What's up, Weiss?" Orie asked.

"I don't know why," Weiss replied, "but I have the sneaking suspicion that some shenanigans are going on with my teammates."

"Do you want to go check up on them?" Chie asked.

"Are you kidding?" Weiss replied. "The father away it is from me, the better."

Blake snickered behind her book. She was simply walking alongside the other girls, enjoying the quiet that she had been offered by keeping away from the other, more mischievous sort. Weiss, Yumi, Chie, Yukiko and Orie were merely enjoying some time to themselves.

That is, they were, before a cheeky blonde with multicolored eyes bounced over in front of their faces! "Hey there!" Ryona said. "How's it going?"

"Oh no..." Weiss said, recalling the story behind these Hebijo Girls. Particularly when it came to this girl, Ryona: The masochist. The way that Weiss rationalized it, was Ryona was like Heart, only even more crazy. And that was saying a lot since she described Heart as Ruby, but only more crazy.

"Oh, hello there," Chie greeted. "How's it going?"

"Oh, going good~" Ryona replied. "How're you doing?"

"We're fine," Orie replied.

"Weiss, are you alright?" Yukiko asked. "You're looking hostile."

"I'm not a fan of certain people," Weiss replied.

"Ryona! There you are!" Ryobi yelled, appearing just in time to slug Ryona on the back of the head! "Don't just up and abandon me you moron!"

"Oh, sorry!" Ryona said. "Do you want to punish me more?"

"Maybe I will!" Ryobi said, punching Ryona again, causing her to cry out in... delight.

"Hey!" Chie said. "What's the deal? You can't just abuse her like that!"

"Chie, don't bother," Yumi said. "It's easier if you just let them go."

"Huh? Why?" Yukiko asked.

"They're always like this," Yozakura said in defeat.

"You mean she's always getting beat up?" Chie asked, gesturing to Ryona.

Suddenly, the blonde girl got directly in Chie's face! "You can have a turn too, if you want," she offered.

"What in the fu-!?" Chie said, before getting cut off as Orie yelled, "how and why!?"

"In life," Weiss said, "upon meeting some of the people I have, it has become an increasing fact in my life that I must not question some people. It becomes that much easier for your mind to comprehend."

"Heh," Ryobi said. "Good. Nice to know somebody here has some manners."

"You know," Blake said, "it doesn't exactly apply to you when you're the abusive one here."

"I never asked your opinion," Ryobi said.

"I think you just proved her point," Yumi said.

"Didn't ask you either," Ryobi said, before her gaze returned to Weiss. Her eyes scanned up and down Weiss's body, causing the heiress some confusion.

"Yes?" Weiss asked.

Ryobi's face suddenly lit up, before pointing to Weiss's face! "Finally!" she said. "I found another one!"

"Another what?" Weiss asked.

"Another girl to join my alliance!" Ryobi said. "My alliance to stop chest size stereotyping! I've already made a list with Noel Vermillion, Linne, that weird ice cream girl, and now you make a perfect candidate!"

Weiss gave a highly suspicious look as she stared at Ryobi skeptically. "And pray tell..." she said, "what does this 'chest size' alliance entail?"

"What else?" Ryobi asked. "Your flat chest!"

Something audible snapped the next moment. "Ah," all girls present said nervously, looking to one another before their gazes all fell to Weiss. She had a deadly aura radiating off of her body as these words hung in the air! Everyone backed away in fear, even Ryona - though she had a somewhat happy look on her face - but all of them fearing her murderous intent that was rising steadily!

Each and every student in Beacon Academy and beyond knew full well not to point out the size of the Ice Queen's chest. Everyone in their clique, or even those that were not, learned this quickly, some unfortunately having to learn the hard way. As it would spell instant demise upon any who should deliver such a sleight!

And unfortunately for Ryobi, that was the case. Faster than she could blink, her neck was grabbed by Weiss, whose nails were threatening to dig into her skin! Weiss shot her lethal gaze upon her quarry, a growl not unlike a Grimm dripping from her tone.

"_**You will know just what pain awaits you now,**_" she said.

At that moment, everyone else ran as fast as they could! Even Ryona found herself being carried away to safety by Yumi and Chie, who were offering her the mercy of being moved out of the firing range! As for Ryobi, well, even for a sadist she was utterly screwed.

* * *

_**A/N: GOSH DARN IT THIS ONE TOOK FOREVER TO RELEASE!**_

_**Yeah, I have no real excuse for why this one took so long to publish. You know how it is, life gets you distracted and you just have to set things aside for later to make room for other things. All the same, I'd say I'm pretty happy with how this one came out. Is it perfect... nah, not really. But overall, I think I got the point across good and everyone was within character. I tried to make things somewhat obscure or ambiguous with the alignment of the Hebijo students and Suzune, given that while I'm not exactly uneducated about the SK girls, I'd scarcely call myself an expert, but nothing that I read or watched indicates that they fit within the traditional sense of 'evil'. They ain't no Yuuki-Terumi, let's get that straight.**_

_**Now one more thing I'd like to say before we get to review responses, I would just like to say a massive "thank you" to everyone who left suggestions to me about a My Hero Academia crossover! I have made my ultimate decision, which will require far more research to be done, so I would just like to say thank you all for the suggestions, and I took them all into consideration!**_

_**Now for review responses;**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya; Yeah, Team RWBY are back to their original looks. I hadn't made that explicitly clear in the past, but yeah since those are their most iconic looks, so much to the point that RT continue to use them in promotional material and stuff, I figure it'd just go without saying. And yeah, Ruby does cause a commotion for everyone, that's what makes her awesome!**_

_**To AnEnemyStandLoL; I will be more than happy to touch on Naoto K. a bit more in the future. It's just been the BB struggle thus far. But from what I've learned, he's cooler than I had initially thought.**_

_**Which leads me to Mystech Master; holy snot, when I first saw that wall of text I almost had a heart attack! XD In all seriousness though, thank you SO much for the extra material on Naoto. I learned quite a bit more than I had just from glancing at the BB wikia. So thank you a million! You're awesome!**_

_**To SolarS; Yeah, I actually had the thought of having Ruby threaten to use Crescent Rose to cut her hair if nobody helped her, but I sadly lost that since I had to redo the chapter and sadly lost some of my stuff. RIP old version of chapter's beginning.**_

_**To Will DeGrave; holiday chapters = Yes!**_

_**And finally to Thee Guest; I have definitely considered doing a serious plotline as a different story post before. I've just been a bit nervous since I'd tried that initially as my first story I posted, and let's just say it didn't end well. That and these have just been so much fun to make since I'm able to just throw consistency and such out the window.**_

_**Anyway, you all know the drill! Let me know what you think and what other suggestions you have in the future, and I'll gladly get to them eventually! Also, I've been thinking of redoing older chapters, so if you have any idea of how I may spruce up some older ones outside of just fixing some grammar or spelling mistakes that I've noticed here or there, let me know!**_

_**Until next time, thank you all so much for reading, have a fantastic evening, and take care!**_


	31. Happy Halloween

Hyde Kido couldn't help but adjust his scarf as he sat on the sofa in the middle of Beacon's dorm building. Halloween had come to the multiple worlds and as such, everyone had gathered up to celebrate the holiday at a party. Everyone was coming in costume, but Hyde was a little bit apprehensive about his own. "So... why am I dressing up as Ruby for Halloween?" he asked.

Sure enough, as his Halloween costume, he was dressed as what could best be described as a Rule-63 version of Ruby. Instead of a skirt, he was wearing a pair of black shorts with suspenders, and a red scarf in place of Ruby's hood. The same scarf that Asuka typically wore that doubled as a mask, (did she ever actually use the mask part of it?) which she kindly allowed him to use for the occasion.

"Recall that you lost the bet," Yu replied, adjusting his katana over his shoulder.

"Well how was I supposed to know the new Sonic movie design would look somewhat decent?" Hyde asked in annoyance. "Besides, we don't even know that it's official!"

"Too little too late," Yu replied casually. For his costume, the Kingpin of Steel was dressed up as Ichigo from the anime Bleach. He didn't have a redhead wig, but was still decked out in the usual black robes with his own katana blade doubling as Ichigo's sword.

"Sister Complex has a point Kido," Yang said, leaning over from behind the sofa and hugging Hyde from behind. "Like there was any way we were gonna let you out due to a technicality. Because, I don't know about anyone else, but I'm adoring every minute of you dressed in that."

It was practically a unanimous agreeance. Yang was dressed in a surprisingly accurate replica of Broly from the movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly, complete with the fur cape and armored chestplate. Her own hair was left much more wild to emulate his Super Saiyan state on top of all that, with a few painted on scars around her face to replicate his warrior aesthetic.

"Why do you all hate me?" Hyde asked.

"It's not hate, my dear Kido," Yang said. "It's familial affection." Once more, from nearby, chuckles could be heard all around.

The number of costumes from the other teammates included;

Naoto (Shirogane) as Sherlock Holmes from the tv series Sherlock. (Of course.)

Chie as Chun-Li from Street Fighter.

Ren as Hawkeye with Nora as Black Widow from Avengers: Endgame.

Yukiko as a cute witch.

Orie as a cosplay of Mitsuru back when she was attending Gekkoukan High.

Yumi as a snow girl.

Heart as Madoka Kaname from Puella Magi Madoka Magica.

Jaune and Pyrrha as pilots from Voltron: Legendary Defender.

Saki as Homura Akemi, also from Madoka Magica (following Heart's theme).

Blake as a Belle from Beauty and the Beast.

Naoto (Kurogane) as Carnage from the Spider-Man franchise.

Kanji as a Frankenstein creature.

Kamui as Sailor Jupiter from Sailor Moon.

Linne as Six from Little Nightmares.

Yosuke as a wolf.

and Lillica as Rias Gremory from Highschool DxD.

The only ones left were Ruby and Weiss, who were still getting dressed. It had made explicitly clear by all of Team RWBY and JNPR that October the 31st was not only Halloween, but it was also Ruby's birthday. And as such, they were going to celebrate that first and foremost before anything else. Lest WBY be forced to CUT YOU!

All the same, nobody had any real argument in celebrating Ruby's birthday. The plan they had agreed to was they would celebrate in Vale, Weiss having managed to rent out a party hall at a resteraunt to celebrate, (at the expense of her entire monthly allowance,) before starting the real Halloween party. It would help, however, if the birthday girl herself were to show up.

And right on cue, Ruby appeared dressed in her Grim Reaper costume, surprising Hyde from behind with a hug! "Rawr!" she said. "Gotcha!"

"Sure you did," Hyde said calmly, patting Ruby on the head. He couldn't help but smirk at her ensemble, with a big ol' red cloak, plus black and white face-paint on her face to emulate a skull. She had even put in some removable paint in her hair to give herself some highlights.

"Sorry for the wait," Weiss said, coming out in a pretty legitimate Elsa from Frozen look. Like Hyde, she lost a bet and ended up as the Ice Queen (Ha-ha) but at least she pulled it off well. "_Somebody _wouldn't hold still long enough for me to paint her face."

"Hey, it's not my fault!" Ruby said defensively. "I'm just overexcited! I've never had so many people celebrating my birthday before! And most if not all of them are the best friends I've had in my life!"

Yu chuckled as he stood up and patted Ruby's shoulder. "And we're happy to celebrate it, Ruby-chan," he said proudly.

"Of course we are!" Chie agreed, both she and Yukiko popping up to hug Ruby from both sides! "But, uh, just so we're clear, you're going to have meat at your party, right?"

"Uh... I dunno," Ruby replied. "I didn't ask for it."

"Alright, alright," Yosuke said. "How about we stop talking about it, and start celebrating it for real."

"Yosuke-senpai's right!" Kanji said. "Let's get moving!"

"Yes! Yes! Come on!" Ruby laughed, grabbing Hyde and Weiss by their hands and running off, Yang chuckling right behind as the rest of them filed out.

Before they headed out, Blake pulled Katsu and Teddie aside. "Okay you two," she said, "remember what we agreed upon?"

The two sighed heavily. "Yes," Katsu admitted. "No fondling."

"Or any sexual harrassment for that matter," Blake added.

"You're not the boss of me!" Katsu said. "Although, admittedly, biting or licking might be a bit more stimulating."

"Katsuragi!" Blake yelled.

"Okay! I get it!" Katsu said.

"Hmph!" Teddie said proudly. "You don't need to worry about me, Blake-san. I'm a real gentle-bear."

"Yeah, and the day I believe that is the day Katsu stops bugging people," Blake said, walking out the door.

"Hey, I resent that!" Katsu called after her.

* * *

Ragna let loose a massive sigh. Never before did he consider himself to be in this situation again, organizing a birthday for (at least somebody best attributed to) a little sister. But, here he was, having gotten roped into another situation upon Mitsuru's demands so as to help set up for Ruby's birthday.

Ragna knew that it would be easier to just not even bother arguing by this point. He knew fully well that not only would Mitsuru have his head if he chose not to help, but the rest of Ruby's team would also hunt him down no matter how well everything turned out without his help.

But, at his core, Ragna knew that he did want to help Ruby have a nice time. He couldn't help but think that Ruby may have been a lot like Saya if she had been allowed to grow up. Not to mention Ruby acting like a lost puppy every time they were so much as in the same area made it hard for him to not get attached.

So, here he was, dressed up in a Sol Badguy from Guilty Gear costume, helping mostly with the heavy lifting, dragging objects from one side of the room to the other, and getting up to higher places to set up things like streamers or banners. "Hey Ragna!" Noel called, running over dressed in her Anna from Frozen costume. "How do I look?" she asked. "Weiss and I are dressing as the sisters from Frozen!"

"Does it look nice? You think we'll match? I know that Weiss has a butt-load of cash so she'll probably look amazing, so I want to make sure I look good."

"You look fine," Ragna laughed.

"Thanks," Noel replied with a contented sigh. "Although, I will admit I'm a little bit sad that I won't be dressing up in a theme with the others. So they had to make due without me."

She was obviously referring to her friends Tsubaki, Mai, and Makoto, who were dressed as the Powerpuff Girls; Bubbles, Blosom, and Buttercup respectively. Tsubaki was looking fairly uncomfortable in her current outfit, as she was not used to things like this. However, Makoto and Mai were definitely not going to let her leave her at peace whatsoever.

"Here we go," Mitsuru said, taking a few steps back to admire the work. She was dressed in a costume that looked a lot like a seductive vampire.

Most coloration that was going about the hall was themed in red, for the streamers or balloons here and there, but there was also a lot of white, black, and yellow to help it feel a lot like Ruby's team as well. And naturally, there were a number of roses scattered about.

"Oh, this is going to be great!" Noel said. "Ruby should love it!"

"We should hope so," Akihiko replied, dressed in a fairly graphic Wolfman costume, with scars and blood adorning his face or abs. "Otherwise I'm sure that Yang is going to throttle the lot of us."

"Not just Yang," Mitsuru added, "but the rest of her team as well. It just so happens that you are most worried about Miss Xiao Long."

Noel and the other girls gave a good natured laugh. Akihiko turned away. From his regular training with Yang, he knew what the girl was truly capable of, including when she was angry.

He still had a particularly bad memory of when she got angry after he piledrived her at one point and she managed to blow a hole right through the ceiling. She was pretty repentant about it, but Akihiko didn't bother holding her responsible for it. Mainly because she worried him a great deal with the sheer amount of strength she possessed.

"Before too much longer," Mitsuru said, "the others should get here. So if you have a gift, you should get it out now."

Naturally, pretty much everyone had something to give. As Mitsuru set her gift down in the large pile that had been built up from both those present and those not there as of yet, she saw Ragna standing off to the side, leaning against a wall. "Ragna," she said sternly, "don't tell me you do not have a present for Ruby?"

"What if I don't?" he asked. He met her gaze, recoiling at the cold aura that was flowing off of her!

"Oh for the love of-!" he said, gesturing to a wrapped gift he was hiding in his coat pocket. "There? Happy? I just want to give it to her on my own time! Now keep your damn shirt on already!"

Mitsuru instantly cooled (Ha-ha) and ruffled his hair. "Just so we have an understanding," she said.

"What are you, my damn mother?" Ragna asked, smacking her hand aside.

"Alright lovebirds!" Makoto said, appearing alongside them. "Stand at attention! They're here!"

"What the hell did you call me?" Ragna asked, as Makoto casually walked away. "Get back here!"

Mitsuru sighed as she found herself once again holding Ragna back. In the next minute, Ruby and the rest of her party arrived. The Rose Red in question took in the gorgeous display inside, as everyone wished her a happy birthday.

"Oh my gosh guys!" Ruby said, her eyes shining their silver color! "This is awesome! Thank you all so much!"

She promptly found herself hugging just about everyone she could! She wasn't even paying attention to who she was hugging at the time, she was just in a hugging mood! When she got to Ragna, the Bloodedge in question couldn't help but smile down at her and pat her head.

For the next several minutes, as the group enjoyed the cake and food for her party, Ruby was receiving all of her gifts, all of them being things that she was hoping to get.

Yu and Yosuke pitched in to get her the premium version of the new "Citizen Grimm II" remastered game she was looking forward to that year that came with a special statuette and artbook, plus in-game material that she was especially hoping to get.

Chie got her some new armored pads for her next battle outfit, while Yukiko played a little more "feminine" and made her a new scarf to go with her hood.

Team JNPR, in a "team effort", got Ruby a new card game they had made based on their friends from other worlds, hoping they could all play trivia with each other to see who's been paying attention as a bit of fun, which Ruby was ecstatic about.

In a similar capacity, Makoto, Noel, Tsubaki, and Mai all got her the complete series box-set of the Soaring Ninja anime. They were a limited time release and fairly expensive, but the four were able to pitch in cash (which they naturally traded out for lien) to buy it for her.

Asuka got Ruby the graphic novel set of Kagura Zombies (which they had read together and got totally obsessed over).

Orie and Ikaruga got her a silver rose hair-clip and a red crystalline bracelet, which Ruby felt would be for if she ever thought of making her style more girly, but she was still thankful for then all the same.

Kanji got her a stuffed fox plushy, based on a friend of the Investigation Team.

Vice versa, Teddie got her a stuffed version of... himself. Naturally, many found it weird, but Ruby herself didn't seem to mind so it wasn't an issue.

Heart's party (Kamui, Saki, Konoha, Lilica, Weiß, and even Scharlachrot) all got Ruby a massive cook book.

Yuzuriha got her some of the best sharpenning and polishing tools she could find for Crescent Rose.

Naoto (Shirogane) got her some of her personal favorite detective novels.

Linne (and Vatista) got her an old-fashioned ruby gemmed necklace.

Celica gave her a compass as a last minute gift, to hopefully keep her from getting as lost as the Chrono Phantasma herself did.

Yozakura got her a new mixer for her to make cookies.

The whole of the Shadow Operatives plus Labrys gifted her an honorary Evoker in the hopes of it amplifying her Aura.

In addition, they also helped the more... let's say awkward ones like Seth and Carmine to get her a set of t-shirts, one that read "Awesome Shirt" and the other that read "Grim Fairy Tale."

Yumi got her an art print of cats on a cat tree, which was adorable.

Minori got her a big, fat plush doll of a Beowolf, which was both cute and terrifying.

And finally, the rest of her teammates. Blake got her a new book, Weiss got her a Dust mixer, and Yang got her a new scope for Crescent Rose.

Ruby made doubly certain to thank all of her friends for the kind gifts, as many pitched in to help move them into a set so as to relocate them back to Ruby's dorm. As they went, Mitsuru saw Ragna still standing off to the side watching it all go down. "Hey, Ruby-chan," Mitsuru said, giving Ragna a particular look. "I think somebody else has something to give you."

Ragna felt his eye twitch as Ruby looked at him curiously. "Really couldn't give me a break, could you?" he asked. "Well, here kid," he added. He handed Ruby the gift, the girl thanking Ragna for it and quickly opening it.

It was a patch with a rose and thorns decorated on it. It appeared to be made from a fairly thick material so as to keep from breaking easily. And the moment that Ruby tested by patching it to her shoulder, it was nigh impossible to take off without Ragna showing her how.

"That way," he said, "you'll always remind people of who you are."

"Thank you Ragna! I love it!" Ruby said, giving Ragna a big hug.

"Agh! The contact! It burns!" Ragna yelled.

Ruby thankfully released him, running back to go and gather up her things into a pile that the others would help her to relocate back to her room. As she went, Ragna was looking at her the whole time. And he was honestly smiling.

"Well now," Mitsuru said coyly, catching his attention.

"What now?" Ragna asked.

"I just don't think I've ever seen you smile this much," Mitsuru said.

Ragna made a face at her, as his eyes continued flicking back to Ruby's activity. "Don't spread it around," he said. "I've got a reputation to keep."

Ruby's gifts were lugged into a car to be brought back to her room later, as the party began to shift gears into a proper Halloween party. The banner celebrating Ruby's birthday was taken down and replaced by a standard "Happy Halloween" banner, and most of the balloons and streamers were replaced with orange and black. They didn't need to replace the black ones already present, but did place in the orange and chose to leave the red too since it wasn't too far from the traditional Halloween color scheme.

Before long, more guests began to arrive. The first of them, was Cinder and her team. Cinder was dressed in a costume resembling a demon, while Emerald was a tribal amazon, and Mercury was a cyborg.

"Hello all," she said. "We are humbled by your invitation."

"Are you sure it was a good idea to invite them?" Weiss asked Mitsuru.

"It's a truce in honor of the season," Mitsuru replied.

Neo walked past, dressed as Mary Poppins and sticking her tongue out at the others as she left.

"Just keep an eye on them," Mitsuru said.

"To be frank," Ragna said, "I still don't like it. Inviting any of these people. Especially considering I'd have to deal with-"

"Boo," Hazama said, startling Ragna. "Hello again, Raggy," Hazama waved, dressed in his Woody from Toy Story costume. "It's such a pleasure to see you again."

"For your own sake," Ragna said, "I recommend staying as far away from me as possible."

"And as always," Hazama said smugly, "you never cease to entertain."

"Come now, Hazama," Cinder said coyly. "Leave him be. You can mess with him on your own time."

"And what if I don't want to?" Hazama asked.

"They have snacks here," Cinder replied.

"Ooh~ Nibbles!" Hazama said, promptly running off.

"What exactly is their relationship?" Ragna asked.

"I've found it better not to question it," Mitsuru replied.

Yu watched the newly arrived villains with feigned interest. He was just wondering how long it would be before-

"Narukami~"

Right on cue. Yu turned to see Adachi wearing a costume resembling Lelouch from Code Geass. "How's it going?" he asked.

"It's okay, Adachi," Yu replied. "I take it you've been behaving yourself?"

"Not remotely," Adachi replied.

"So..." Naoto (K.) said. "He's the guy you've mentioned before, yeah? The serial murderer?"

"In the flesh!" Adachi replied with a dramatic bow. "Tohru Adachi, former police officer, agent of chaos, and all around pain in the ass!"

"Can I stab him?" Naoto asked.

"On your own time," Yu replied.

"Dude!" Adachi said, sounding offended.

Hyde watched the interactions with his own set of intrigue. "You okay, Hyde?" Ruby asked.

"Kinda," Hyde replied. "I can practically smell the danger coming off of some of these guys and it's putting me on edge. I can't even believe some of these guys were invited to this party within the same hour that we stopped celebrating your birthday."

"Oh, Hyde, you're sweet," Ruby said. "But I don't mind! Really, part of it was my idea too."

"Seriously?" Hyde asked. "Well so long as we don't spot-"

"Is that the Unknown Actor I spy~"

"God... Dammit..." Hyde finished. He spun around and saw Hilda, dressed in a swimming Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty costume.

"How are you?" Hilda asked.

"Better before I saw you," Hyde replied.

"And as always," Hilda said, "your just as charming as ever, little boy~"

"Hilda... please..." Hyde said. "For the love of God... just keep yourself in line? I'm on edge enough as it is without anticipating you going to murder somebody..."

"Oh Kido," Hilda said, lifting his chin, "you think so highly of me."

Ruby felt a murderous intent rising inside of her as she spied Hilda basically flirting with Hyde! It made Ruby feel threatened and like she wanted to bust out Crescent Rose and lop off that woman's head! And as if she could feel her glaring angrily, Hilda spied Ruby out of the corner of her eye with that same darn smile.

"And who's this?" she asked. "Another pet of yours, Kido? You bad dog~"

"She's my friend," Hyde replied. "My best friend. Ruby, this is Hilda, goes by 'Paradox' as the leader of Amnesia. And I hate her."

"I love you too sweety," Hilda replied.

"Hi," Ruby said bluntly. "I'm Ruby Rose."

"Lovely to meet you, sweetheart," Hilda said. "I'm always happy to meet another one of Hyde's toys."

"Excuse me?!" both Hyde and Ruby yelled.

Before either of them could bust out their respective weapons, both Heart and Mitsuru rushed over to their sides! "Hilda!" Mitsuru said, as Heart corralled the teenagers aside. "Lovely to meet you! Well... maybe not lovely, but... I'm Mitsuru Kirijo."

"Oh I've heard of you," Hilda said coyly.

"As I have heard of you," Mitsuru said, taking a few cautious glances over her shoulder to spot Heart trying desperately to shove the astronomically angered Hyde and Ruby away.

"Why don't we," she said, "let the others be to themselves for awhile? I would love to get to speak with you more."

"I'd be flattered," Hilda said, flicking a wink towards the simmering Hyde and Ruby.

Heart was finally able to wrangle the both of them by their necks and whispered a suggestion into their ears.

"You want us to what?" Hyde asked.

* * *

"Heart," Hyde said firmly, "this has got to be one of the dumbest things you've ever requested."

"Well it wasn't just my idea," Heart replied. "It was also Yang's!"

"Of course it was," Hyde added.

What he was referring to was the idea that they had suggested of going through a haunted house attraction that was set up for the Halloween season. Not only was it the idea of going through the house that Hyde took trouble with, it was the specific requirements of people only going through two at a time. And it didn't take a genius to figure out what Heart specifically had in mind with this idea.

Considering that Heart wanted mostly for people to go through in pairs, many of which consisted primarily of a guy and a girl. She naturally had the stereotypical idea that once inside, the girls would flock to the guys for protection from the experience and lead to a quasi-romantic circumstance. Pretty much, everyone present could smell the idea from a mile away, and nobody was particularly looking forward to it. The only thing that made them so much as get this far was just for the sake of getting as far away from the antagonists as they could go.

"Come on everybody!" Yang said. "Step right up! First one in is the birthday girl!"

The next moment, Yang and Heart began pushing Hyde and Ruby towards the building! "I hate you both for this!" Hyde said, while Ruby was grumbling to herself.

Once the two were shoved roughly inside, Hyde dusted off his shirt and adjusted his scarf, as he stared down the hall. The place was shrouded mostly in red light, with the hall looking fairly rough and decrepit.

"This is dumb," he said. He hadn't gone through a haunted house ride like this since he was ten, so he wasn't particularly looking forward to it again. Especially since he was convinced that no fear would come to him from having become an In-Birth, and he was sure Ruby as a Huntress would feel the same way.

"Well," Ruby said, looking straight ahead. "I guess we got no choice. We know if we try to butt out now, Yang and Heart are just gonna shove us right back in again."

"Yeah, you're right," Hyde said. "Shall we?" he held out a hand, Ruby taking it in her own. The two made their way down, hand in hand, waiting for the inevitable.

"They really are silly," Hyde said. "I mean, I'm an In-Birth and you're a Huntress. We fight real monsters, so nothing in here should scare us, right?"

"Of course," Ruby said, although the shaking in her tone made it seem like she wasn't being honest. "Nothing in a haunted house like this can scare us, right? I mean, I'm a Huntress! Well, in training, but still! I'm gonna be a hero and save people! So no fake monsters in a house like this is gonna scare me! Ha ha!"

Hyde raised a brow at her, Ruby meeting his gaze only to look away with a hint of blush peeking through her painted face. "Wait," Hyde said, "are you actually-?"

Turns out, they really didn't have much longer to wait. Pretty much upon crossing the halfway point of the hallway itself, zombies shoved their way through the holes in the wall! Pretty much every immunity from battling Grimm or Voids was forgotten as the Actor and the Red shot down the hallway, screaming at the top of their lungs!

Most of the rest of the crowd couldn't help but laugh. Not only were they entertained by Ruby and Hyde's flustered attitudes, but they could hear them screaming from outside, and it only fueled their laughter. Even Weiss found herself among the many. That is, until Yang and Heart grabbed her and Yu next!

"Wait! What!? What're you dolts doing!?" she demanded. Yu was naturally not the least bit bothered by any of this, as Heart and Yang threw the two of them inside! Weiss promptly turned to leave, only to find the door locked.

"Of course," she said.

Yu shot a smirk at her, letting out a chuckle. "Those two really can't help themselves," he said.

"And every time," Weiss said, "I want nothing more than to bash their skulls with my rapier."

"Shall we?" Yu asked, holding a hand out to her, much like Hyde had done before. Weiss rolled her eyes, crossing her arms for a moment. She was unwilling to humour this idea, but upon seeing Yu wiggling his fingers with his outstretched hand, with rosy cheeks, Weiss took his hand.

"Don't get the wrong idea," she said.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Yu replied.

The two set off, only for Weiss to shriek like a banshee and throw herself towards Yu when the zombies shot out again! If she even considered the fact that she had entirely committed the stereotype, she would probably die of shame right then and there.

Outside, everyone was laughing even harder than when Hyde and Ruby had gone in there! "Did-did you hear Narukami?" Yang asked between laughs.

"N-n-no-!" Heart replied. "It was only Weiss!"

"Oh man!" Yosuke laughed. "Suck it Ice Queen!"

He stopped laughing, however, when Yang grabbed his wrist next! "Yeah, set myself up for that one," he added, as he and Makoto were thrown in next!

"Kiss that copy of Dragon Ball FighterZ goodbye, Yang!" Yosuke called.

"Worth it!" Yang's muffled voice from the door said.

Yosuke put on a heavy pout, as Makoto merely laughed beside him. "So," she said, "ready to go, Yokee?"

"I guess," Yosuke said. "We know they'll never leave us be, so best to just get it over with."

He and Makoto strode bravely ahead. Makoto's eyes kept looking over at Yosuke, a blush creeping onto her cheeks as the memories of her crush incident came flooding back. She knew that Heart was trying to take advantage of that, but it wasn't like the demi-human was going to allow that. Thankfully, when the zombies came out, the two were too busy screaming for their lives to even consider the other person next to them as a sign of protection, and bolted as fast as they could!

Back with Ruby and Hyde, they had caught their breath upon bolting as fast as they could. Once they finished breathing, they couldn't help but laugh! "We're real chickens, aren't we?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Hyde said. "We both screamed so hard!"

"Well," Ruby said, "we should keep going, right?"

"Yeah," Hyde replied. The two set off once again, walking towards the exit, jumping at a few occasions at the different things that would pop from the walls! It was mostly jumpscare related, but there were a few occasions where creepy noises could be heard that kept them on edge. They stuck close to one another for comfort, and neither seemed to mind it.

Eventually, the two made it out of the house and collapsed on the ground by a tree in the back yard. Ruby leaned against Hyde, letting herself positively melt into his body. Hyde didn't mind it for a second, as he put an arm around her and clutched her close.

Ruby forced her eyes open as she looked at the boy that was holding her. She had never really let anything like this happen since Ruby tended to be fairly closed off when it came to physical closeness. She always did things restrictive and modestly, but as she felt the warmth that was coming off of him she couldn't help but feel utterly comfortable.

Hyde felt her looking at him and looked back at her in-turn. While many people would be totally hypnotised by Ruby's eyes, for the first time, Ruby felt herself totally captivated by Hyde's eyes too. They were red and glistening as her namesake and the way his pupils were they honestly looked like cat's eyes.

It seemed that Hyde himself also seemed highly comfortable with their situation, as he leaned his head down and touched their foreheads together. For the first time since she could remember, Ruby was at a total loss for words. Her mind wasn't particularly moving with activity the way that it normally did, as she just continued to lend herself to the contact that they were experiencing.

Something like this was so utterly out of character for her. Normally, if she were thinking, she would find this contact so freaky and would back away as fast as she could! But for some reason, she just found this right and there was no problem with this at all.

"Hey Ruby..." Hyde said. "Have you had a good birthday?"

"Huh?" Ruby asked. "Oh, of course! Yeah! It was awesome!"

She found herself nuzzling closer up to him. "I'm really happy," she said.

Hyde smiled. "Good," he said. "I'm glad to hear it."

The two merely sat still for a minute, just holding each other close as they looked at the light of the moon.

"Hey you two!" Yang's voice called. "We, uh... we're gonna need some help!"

Curiously, the two rushed over to the front, where they found Yang and Blake looking at Weiss, as she was being held in Yu's arms, shaking like a leaf!

"Woah!" Ruby said. "Weiss, what happened!?"

"Too... too scary..." Weiss said. "Too scary!"

"I think it'd be best we take her back," Yu said.

"Yeah," Yang said. "Let's go."

"And then, when we get back," Heart said, "we can enjoy candy!"

"She is much too addicted to sugar," Saki said, rubbing her head.

The group made their way back to the party, managing to enjoy themselves despite their more hectic company. The Halloween passed by, everyone having a great time with friends. And for the birthday girl, her older sister did notice her holding hands with Hyde both back to the party, and on their way back home.

* * *

Epilogue:

"This is fucking stupid," Ragna said, leaning on a hand against the table.

"Will you grow up?" Mitsuru asked. "You're never too old to enjoy a good horror movie."

"After everything I've gone through?" Ragna asked. "Do you really think that I'll be affected by half this shit?"

"The least you can do is watch it," Mitsuru said.

Ragna rolled his eye as the movie began to play.

Several minutes later, he could be found gasping for breath with his sword clutched tightly in his hand and a dark aura coating his body! Mitsuru was holding him from behind, stroking his head soothingly, whispering sweet nothings into his ears.

Not far away, Hazama was watching the scene play out sitting on top of a table with a macaron in his hand. Cinder was walking by and raised an eyebrow at the site. "Do I want to know?" she asked.

"Oh, Raggy was just being as charming as ever," Hazama replied. "Got a little too worked up over his movie."

Cinder gave a nod, before looking at Hazama sitting on the table. "Will you get off of there?" she asked.

"No," Hazama replied.

* * *

_**A/N: This one's finally done! Happy Halloween everybody!**_

_**This one was pretty easy to write, but simultaneously required a lot of thought put into it to make sure it suited well as a celebration peace.**_

_**This one overall made me smile while writing it, to celebrate Ruby's birthday and as a tribute to Halloween, since Halloween is one of my favorite holidays and Ruby is one of my favorite characters. I would like to thank everybody for their patience, however, as I couldn't get in the right frame of mind for writing this in the time that I had without worrying about assignments or such.**_

_**In terms of some of the costumes I thought of, some of them were pretty simple since I just used a lot of the extra character colors for different characters in the game, like Ragna as Sol Badguy, Makoto, Tsubaki, and Mai as the Powerpuff Girls, and even Hazama as Woody (which I found hilarious). Some of the others I just did what felt right with their characters, like Cinder as a demoness, or Akihiko as a werewolf.**_

_**One of my favorites has to be Yu as Ichigo and Adachi as Lelouch, since all of these characters are voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch and I couldn't not do that! XD**_

_**I do feel like this one could've been refined, spend a bit more time on the details, but enough time had passed for me to develop it, and I'm posting it on the holiday itself, so I really couldn't waste much more time since I was just about done with it.**_

_**As for review responses!**_

_**To SolarS: I don't think there's anything to worry about with Rubes doing evil things. She's too squeaky clean. And she would never do such a thing as to eat an oatmeal cookie!**_

_**To YhwachQuincy: I don't really think that anybody else would be able to kill Terumi without some outside forces helping. That's the whole point. Cinder's ultimate weakness is her hubris. This idea in her head that nobody is truly invincible, and that anybody, no matter how powerful they are, can be manipulated to suit her own grand designs. While I may have blown her up a bit since I really love her initial characterization, and she's even had some pleasurable moments in more recent volumes of RWBY, you can totally assume that she's in over her head and there really are some things that are out of her control and might ultimately nip her in the bud.**_

_**To AzuriteInsanity: Thank you very much for more information on Naoto K. It really does help me get a better grasp on his character and a drive to help dedicate a chapter to him in the future.**_

_**To Thee Guest: I really can't say what other franchise I would think of, since I don't know many other 2D fighters that would fit in the world of BBTAG. I guess it wouldn't have to be a 2D fighter either since we got franchises like RWBY and as far as I know Senran Kagura, that have never had 2d fighter games in the past. **_

_**I suppose Dragon Ball FighterZ would be fun, but that game seems to be standing on its own for now and I can't really see them bridging these two games together as of yet. But it would be amazing if they found a way.**_

_**If I had to make a pick, though, it would be Hyperdimension Neptunia. That series is a lot of fun and definitely has a place in my heart! I love it and would definitely be happy to see it in BBTAG, but that's only if I can't see it somewhere else... and if people want to see me write something for the Neptunia series, don't worry... I've been working on something else ;)**_

_**Anyway guys, that does it for this chapter! Thank you all so much for reading and all of your suggestions! Let me know what you think! And once again, Happy Halloween!**_


	32. Watch Out!

If there was one thing that Ruby loved to do while in the heat of a battle, it was to rush past her enemies at a breakneck pace and shoot them down! She used her speed to dominate the battlefield, and keen eye to attack her enemies before they could even blink, then get away just as fast before their allies could even react in time! It gave her a thrill and a confidence to have control!

These handheld guns she was using also gave her a delight! Each gun could fire off attacks remarkably quick, so using both allowed her a new range of control by attacking quickly and efficiently. While she did and would always love Crescent Rose, the rate of fire of these guns were incredible. Being able to warp across the battlefield spraying her enemies with attacks faster than her scythe made her happy, as she could attack more frequently and use her speed that much harder! She was going to _destroy _her enemies with how fast she was moving!

A grin blossomed onto her face as she caught sight of a camping Yosuke Hanamura, planning on sniping some enemies from a distance! She ran over and bounced from platform to platform to get right up behind him! "Hey Yokee!" Ruby said as she began shooting towards him! "How you doing!?"

"I strongly disagree with this!" Yosuke said, as Ruby fired down upon him! He jumped off the roof and attempted to get away, returning fire as he went! Only he couldn't take it any longer as Ruby continued avoiding his attacks thanks to her speed, and return fire as she went, and he eventually collapsed on the battlefield!

"Ha!" Ruby laughed. "Gotcha, sucker!"

"Don't get cocky," Yang laughed. "Cause' we're comin' for you!"

Ruby turned her head, spying Yang coming down upon her with a downward fist from above! Ruby rushed past, avoiding the meteor level strike from her sister! However, Yang was persistent, shooting her with bolts as Ruby attempted to retaliate, before getting planted with a devastating fist before she could dodge!

Ruby was blown into the air, as Yang continued to press the assault! Ruby rushed as fast as she could to escape! She was ready to reset all the pain that was coming down on her, returning her to full health, if she could just get the chance! However, she heard something to her left.

"I'm sorry Rubes!" Heart yelled, as she sent a volley of attacks towards Ruby, the Huntress dodging as best she could! The powerful hits of Heart were striking like a bomb and it was all Ruby could do to avoid being crushed!

Avoiding both Yang and Heart gave Ruby no breathing room to heal! And all of that was before she saw Yu appear from behind a corner! "No, no, no!" Ruby shouted, until a dragon consumed her!

"Yes."

"NO~! My Tracer~!"

Ruby's eyes promptly turned towards her sister and besty, who were playing on the opposing team. Yang gave a smug grin to her sister as she sent a fistbump towards Narukami. "Get wrecked," Yang said.

Ruby ground her teeth in anger. Her team in Overwatch was getting flattened and she was one of the only ones that could actually put up a decent fight in the heat of the moment.

The teams consisted of Ruby as Tracer, Hyde as Genij, Yagyu as Sombra, Chie as Dva, Kanji as Reinhardt, and Ren as Hanzo, versus Yang as Doomfist, Yu also as Genji, Heart as Wrecking Ball, Yosuke as Soldier 76, Labrys as Orisa and Celica as Mercy. They were playing a game of Escort, where Ruby's team was meant to deliver the payload whilst Yang's was on the defense, and the latter group showed to be incredibly good at it, as they wouldn't even let Ruby's team get close!

"You ganged up on me!" Ruby said.

"It's a team based game, Rubes," Yang said. "Not our fault that you went solo."

"But you're camping!" Ruby said.

"We call it a trap," Yang replied.

"But you didn't deny it!" Ruby said.

"We did no such thing!" Yu replied dramatically. "Oh, crap, I died."

"What? How?" Yang asked, checking the kill display to see that it was Hyde. Her violet eyes glowed red for a second as she focused on the In-Birth in question, sitting on Ruby's side of the room!

"Revenge!" he declared.

Focusing intently on where Hyde was going, Yang spotted his Genji running across the screen, charging towards him with a fist! She uppercutted him straight in the air, before firing on him with a few knuckle spikes, and then slamming him into the ground!

"Ha!" she said.

"What'd you do?" Chie asked.

"I just fisted Hyde," Yang said. Keeping her eyes focused on the screen, Yang smiled as she heard Yosuke spit out his smoothie, Chie choke on her lollipop, and both Hyde and Ruby collectively scream in horror, just to name a few of the surprised proclamations of her friends.

"Really Yang?" Yagyu asked.

"What?" Yang asked. "It was funny."

"You know what you did," Yagyu said.

"Aw don't be like tha-" Yang cut herself off as she got sniped by Yagyu's Sombra. "Dude," Yang said firmly.

"Serves you right," Ruby said.

"Don't be salty Ruby," Yang said.

"I'm not!" Ruby said. "You're team was camping the whole time, ganging up on anybody who got close!

"It's a strategy," Yang replied.

"No it's not!" Ruby said. "You're not playing fair and giving anybody time to breathe!"

"Is this normal for these two?" Chie asked.

"The bickering?" Hyde asked. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Be happy you didn't see them during the King of Fighters match last weekend," Yu added.

Eventually, the bickering hit a steaming point! "That does it!" Ruby said. "I'm telling! Ragnaaaaaaa!" Ruby shot for the door in a flurry of rose petals!

"Do not listen to them!" Yang yelled, chasing after her sister! The others merely sat back and watched them go.

"Should we stop them?" Celica asked.

"If you want to poke that bear, be my guest," Yagyu replied.

"Agreed," Labrys said. "Seeing how those two can get, even I'd be scared to go near that." Everyone else felt the same.

* * *

"*Twitch!*"

"Are you okay, Ragna?" Mitsuru asked.

"I feel a disturbance," Ragna replied. "As if a bunch of bullshit is approaching."

"Ragna!"

"No!"

"Ragna!"

"No!"

"Ragna!"

"No!"

"My point exactly," Ragna added. He gave an exasperated breath as Mitsuru smiled empathetically at him. Ragna turned to the half sisters as they ran over! "Do I want to know?" Ragna asked.

"Yang was camping and playing dirty at Overwatch!" Ruby yelled.

"No I wasn't!" Yang said. "I was playing fair the whole time! Ruby's just a sore loser!"

"You wan't to help with this?" Ragna asked.

"This is all you," Mitsuru replied. "You handle them."

"Alright enough!" Ragna said to the sisters. "Talk slower."

The sisters explained what happened, talking over each other at several instances, as Ragna slowly began losing patience. "Alright, this is ridiculous," Ragna said. "Look, you two, there's no need for this crap."

"Yang, is what Ruby is saying true?"

"What?" Yang asked.

"Did you camp?" Ragna asked. "Did you and your team gang up on her?"

Yang looked away awkwardly. She didn't want to admit it, but Ragna had a stare that demanded that she comply. Ragna didn't play around, he just shot straight. If you were pulling some BS he'd be just as quick to snap you in half until you apologize.

It was one of the main reasons why Yang and Ruby attracted to him as much as they did. Ragna was so much like their Uncle Qrow it was easy to presume that they were alternate versions of one another. While Qrow was prone to messing about every now and again, when he needed to play straight, it was as straight as an arrow, just pulling information out of you in a stern yet simultaneously calming manner.

"Yeah," Yang replied finally. "Yeah, I did."

"Okay," Ragna said. "Ruby, do you accept you lost?"

"What?" Ruby asked.

"Do you accept that you lost?" Ragna asked. "Yeah, they ganged up on you. You still lost. So move on. Just try better and win next time."

Ruby and Yang looked to one another, before making some noises and eventually burst out laughing. "Okay," Ruby said, "we may have gone a bit overboard there."

"Sure enough," Yang said. "But that's what happens when we compete."

"Thanks Ragna!" they both said, grabbing the Bloodedge in a hug!

"Agh!" Ragna cursed. "The contact! It burns!"

Ruby and Yang ran off back to the game room, as Ragna clutched his chest in pain! Mitsuru raised an eyebrow at him, as Ragna looked to be actually harmed.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I can't stand these two," Ragna said.

"Yes you do," Mitsuru said. "It's not their fault you're their older brother."

"I am not!" Ragna yelled.

"NO!" a scream rang out. "Now what?" Ragna asked.

Turns out, Yang, Ruby, and the others in their game were not the only ones playing Overwatch that day. As it happens, in the another nearby room, Jaune, Lillica, Asuka, Naoto (K.) and several others were playing their own game.

They were in the heart of a simple Elimination match, and Jaune, while playing as McCree, had gotten knocked out... again. He was supposed to be team leader for his set, but was doing a poor job of it from the number of times he was being eliminated. At least Pyrrha was there for emotional support.

She was playing as Brigitte, while the rest of their team consisted of Asuka as Ana, Naoto as Junkrat, Sun as Winston, and Makoto as Pharah. While on the opposing team they had Lillica as Zarya, Homura as Sombra, Yukiko as Mercy, Neptune as Reinhardt, Carmine as Reaper, and Murakumo as Widowmaker.

"Get on my level!" Carmine laughed as he eliminated Jaune again. That is, until he was promptly sniped by Asuka.

"Seriously!?" Carmine yelled.

"Revenge kill!" Asuka said. She then got crushed by Neptune. "Oh no!" she said.

"Haha!" Neptune laughed, only to then move to sad noises as Sun got him.

"Gotcha back, buddy!" Sun laughed, before getting caught by Homura.

"Ha! Eat it!" Homura laughed, as her entire team was cheering her on behind her seat!

Two light knocks sounded on the door to the room they were playing in, before it was blown in by a very steamed Ragna! "Would you all just KEEP IT DOWN!?" Ragna demanded. "If I have to hear your back and forth for another minute I'm gonna go Black Beast on each and every one of you brats!"

None of the teens were brave enough to question Ragna's demands, as the Grim Reaper stood in the doorway waiting to hear if they continued. None of them did, not even Carmine or the Crimson Squad. Appearing to be satisfied, he turned on a heel and left.

"Jeez," Carmine said. "What crawled up and died in his ass?"

Back with Ruby and Yang, the two ran over to the game room, only to find that their teams were already moving on without them! "About time you two came back," Labrys said.

"Aw!" Ruby said. "You moved on without us!?"

"We're playing online," Ren said. "We took a bit to split into teams so you two can come over and join our match."

"Yeah! Come on!" Chie said. "We're looking for a new lobby!"

Liking the idea of working together this time around, Ruby and Yang got together and joined up with Ren, Chie, Celica, and Yu in their match. Before long, they found a match to join and they entered. And that is when they all got a shock!

Practically upon landing, they were all crushed one after another by the same two players! None of them had even a chance to breathe as their enemies rushed in and picked them all off! The whole half dozen of them were so utterly in shock they could only look to one another with baffled looks, before Chie lost it!

"What the fu-?!"

* * *

Sitting happily in the Velvet Room watching at their match, Elizabeth and Eltnum delivered high fives to one another. "Got em'!" Eltnum laughed.

"I believe the phrase goes, get dunked on?" Elizabeth added.

The two shared a good natured laugh as Margaret watched them from nearby. She gave a sigh as she watched their antics. "Maybe letting Elizabeth befriend her was a mistake," Margaret said.

* * *

_**A/N: And here we are! This one was fun to do, and I think that it was the perfect time to do this too since we just got the announcement of Overwatch 2!**_

_**So this story was requested by Neptunia56, who just wanted to see a good old fashioned game of Overwatch starring our little babies. Also, I chose to splice in some elements of "Big brother Ragna" which has just been a beloved concept since minute one. He's just cool like that.**_

_**Not much to say about this one. I wanted to have the different characters play as the Heroes in Overwatch that fit them well or would make the most sense for them to play as. I didn't go into detail about the gameplay itself since it'd be hard to make for an engaging writing piece like that when it consists of something like, "Ruby runs up this wall and shoots down Yosuke, before using Recall to heal her damage before Yang can kill her, etc. etc."**_

_**As for why I released this fairly quickly after the Halloween Chapter in comparison to how some of my other work has gone in the past where it typically takes a week to two weeks or so, is because I actually wrote this one alongside the Halloween chapter and all I did was just have to finish up some details here and there. This one is a shorter chapter too, which helped the process along.**_

_**Now onto one of my favorite parts of these, not gonna lie, responding to reviews!**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Yes, I had a lot of fun with the HydexRuby part of the chapter a lot! I wanted to keep it pretty chill and have the 'dawws' in there, but do enough to give you the indication that I'm itching to build up their relationship! So stay tuned. Also, I concur with "Night Rose" as the ship name, I think that's one that a few others have agreed to.**_

_**To AmethystRibbonKnight: I think for my next (or one of) my next chapters, Hibiki and Kagura could actually fit really well in there. So just a heads up!**_

_**To SolarS: Initially, I was actually thinking of having the movie Ragna lost it over be The Exorcist, but I thought that it might just be funnier if you don't know so you can let your mind run wild. But, that one is the one I had in mind when I was intially writing it.**_

_**And on that note, to the Guest who commented on how that epilogue bit was a touch more serious and not so much funny, I apologize. That was totally not my intention! XD In hindsight, I could've explained it a bit more, but if anyone else feels the same way, sorry!**_

_**To Will Degrave: Thanks for some more info! Some stuff like Yagyu and Hibari's relationship or Yomi's info, I already knew about, but most of the others was totally new, so thanks a lot! **_

_**And to Thee Guest: I think it'd be hard for me to NOT check out BBTAG 2.0, especially with all the new content that's being added that will be a GOLDMINE for content inspiration!**_

_**And naturally, Hyperdimension Neptunia is the most cultured of video games. ;)**_

_**With all of that said, thank you as always for reading. Stay tuned for more (though probably not as fast) and until next time have a wonderful evening, and take care!**_


	33. The Fairest of All (Sorry)

A/N: Before we begin this chapter I would just like to preface this by apologizing for taking so long with this one. But there have been numerous things that kept me from finishing this one, as cliche as that sounds. Not only was I wrapping up assignments before Thanksgiving break, but I also had secondary projects that I was hoping to get posted, one of which is actually my new series I've begun posting, SmashDimension Neptunia: Ultimate (which you should totally check out if you haven't already, hint-hint, wink-wink).

Eltnum: Viewer!

Sorry. As my "assistant director" is reminding me, this is suppose to be an apology and not a plug. And with BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle 2.0 released recently, and being totally amazing might I add, I now felt that I had no excuse to not finish this chapter and get it released. So I would just like to apologize once more for the delay, and to thank you all for your patience.

Now for an additional note, before we begin, I feel it's best I post some review responses at the top here to get back to those who have been leaving nice questions or comments, so you don't have to wait any longer.

To Felipexza: Personally, I feel it could go either way with Ragna and Mitsuru. I have personally been quasi-shipping them for awhile, as I feel Mitsuru is somebody responsible and could help give Ragna a stable foundation to fall back on with all the BS that he has to deal with in his life. But I'm open to feedback as well if you feel it can work or if there's someone better for either of them.

To Mystech Master: I'm not really trying to go "punk" with Ragna so much as I am just exaggerating how absolutely done he is with everyone. Granted, I could've established that better, but I was going for something along the lines that Ruby and Yang mess with him more than most, and he's sort of the "exhausted uncle" as opposed to Qrow's stable uncle relationship. (Which reminds me, I have totally failed to bring over Qrow to this story yet... Eh, maybe later). But, yeah. You make a fair point and I'll try to treat him better. I don't want to end up like how the franchise itself treats him! XD

To AmethystRibbonKnight: Yes! Big Bro Ragna for life! That is all.

To SolarS: I can concur with you, I'm not big on shooters myself. Nothing against them, I just never got the appeal. And true, Eltnum does technically count as UNIST, but she does originate from Melty Blood. I just use her cause' she's fun. (Eltnum: Love you too!) It's not unlike what happened to Akatsuki, which gives me the question of if we do end up seeing Eltnum appear, if she will count as UNIST or if they'll use her own franchise instead.

To Rosewood Reaper: I sincerely thank you for the nice comment. Truly, it makes me feel all the better about this story and keeping the momentum going. The shenanigans of Cross Tag Battle is so much fun I feel that even the developers understood this, which is why the 2.0 Extra Story is filled with even more bizarre events and absolutely ridiculous instances of just the characters bouncing off of one another. It's what primarily fueled why I wrote this story the way I did (especially because my earlier attempts at writing a story driven event was crap, and I'm tempted to pull it off the site). So, either way, thank you so much for the nice review and I hope to continue to satisfy you in the future.

To Will DeGrave: Unfortunately, since I don't really have a release date schedule to follow, and don't think I can make one. For me, I tend to write somewhat spontaneously (which is why this one took so long to release) and I can't really _force _anything out without the risk of it feeling unsatisfying or leaving room for improvement. I write when I feel the passion, which is why I can either release something much faster or much slower, especially if my passion transitions to something different that keeps my attention. I will try to improve, however, but for now I'm kinda spontaneous.

To the Guest who requested the different Dancing Games, I totally think that can happen. It'd be way too fun to ignore!

To Neptunia56: I have not finished Estival Versus, but if I feel I can portray it well, it'd be a definite possibility. And to other games, that's always an option. Just let me know something else you think might be fun.

And finally, and this is a big one, to Trinity Sparks: While I'm not opposed to exploring ideas like that in the future, I personally feel that I cannot write something like that. I am in no stretch of the imagination qualified nor capable of writing for something that is a very personal topic for many people without the risk of writing something unsatisfying or risk falling back on a wrong stereotype. I do not want to offend anyone or risk releasing something that either paints myself or the topic at hand in a negative space. I do apologize if this disappoints you, and I do genuinely respect all people in the LGBTQIA+ community, which I've only grown even more respect for upon taking courses in college that looks at the community and their history, and it is from that respect which is why I understand I have no right to portray any struggles or personal circumstances in their lives.

Eltnum: That got real.

Yeah, it did. Either way, again, I do appreciate every comment, question, or request you guys leave! It means a lot to me! And with that all settled, on with the show! The long, long, LONG~ awaited show.

* * *

Let it be known that in Beacon Academy's most recent year, they had adopted a saying: "Hell hath no fury like an Ice Queen scorned." Everyone followed that saying, not only the students, but even most teachers. And today was a perfect example of that saying, as Yosuke Hanamura was learning the hard way.

Using a coined "Chie Kick" Weiss planted her heel into Yosuke's stomach and sent him rolling off his feet, straight into a booth and past a surprised Team BRNZ. The Ice Queen who'd just punted him then proceeded to grab him by the back of his hoodie as he tried to escape, numerous Vytal Festival attendees watching the exchange with entertained or just plain confused expressions.

It had become a pretty well known fact that Weiss and Yosuke were perpetually at each other's throats whenever they were within close proximity of one another, which, coupled in with the bizarre shipping magnets that Team RWBY were, lead some to actually presume that they were in a love-hate relationship where they seemed to hate one another on the surface, but actually had real sexual tension going on, which both adamantly denied. Regardless of whether or not you shipped them, behavior like seeing Weiss dragging Yosuke away like a disappointed parent was pretty normal.

"So, Yosuke Hanamura," Weiss said as she pulled the Prince of Junes to his feet, before promptly grabbing him by the throat, "what could have possibly made you think that I would ever allow you to live after you both create and sign us up for a freaking Beauty Pageant!?"

Earlier that week, Yosuke was hanging out with the other guys, including Sun, Neptune, Yu, Hyde, Teddie, Naoto (K.), Kanji, and Jaune as they walked through the Vytal Festival fairgrounds, taking in the different booths and activities going on. Yosuke had to admit, they had some interesting things. Learning more about Remnant and seeing different aspects of their culture was something that he could get behind, and seeing the different types of booths they offered and comparing them to those that he was more familiar with back in Japan was something that caught his attention. But something in his heart was telling him that it was missing something.

"So you guys," Sun said, turning around and holding his arms out to the fairgrounds. "What do you all think?"

"I'll admit," Naoto said, "it's quite noisy."

"Oh come on man!" Neptune said, throwing an arm around him. "You gotta start interacting more!"

"I'm not opposed to it," Naoto replied. "It's just a lot of activity. A bit more than I can take."

"I know how it feels," Jaune said. "We socially awkward sorts have to stick together."

"You'll both be fine," Yu replied. "Just stick around with us and go with the flow."

Hyde nodded in agreeance, before spotting Yosuke slowing down. "What's up, Yosuke?" he asked.

"Huh?" Yosuke replied. "Oh, nothing. I was just remembering the Culture Festivals from back at Yasogami High."

"Oh, really?" Jaune asked. "You guys have something similar to this back home?"

"Yeah," Yosuke said. "Cept' we don't have a tournament. Still, overall, this Vytal Festival operates kinda like our own Culture Festivals. With all the booths and stuff around Beacon, plus the idea of history and culture being a contributing factor. It just gives me the same vibe."

"Ugh! Don't remind me of that," Kanji said.

"Isn't that where that Group Date Cafe thing happened?" Sun asked.

"Yes. Yes it was," Yosuke said. "But there was something else that happened too."

"Wait!" Kanji said. "Yosuke-senpai, are you seriously bringing _that _up!?"

"Bringing what up?" Jaune asked.

Yosuke sent a snaggle-toothed grin towards Jaune, a deadly glint in his eye as he recalled what the Vytal Festival was missing. "The Beauty Pageant," he said.

"The what?" Hyde asked with a raised brow.

"Jaune! Sun! Neptune! Is there any way to possibly add a booth or event or something?" Yosuke asked, almost sounding desperate.

"Like hell we're doing that!" Kanji said. "You remember what happened last time!? The girls got back at us by holding a freaking drag contest!"

"Drag!?" Hyde, Naoto, Jaune, and Neptune said in fear.

"It'll be fine, shut up!" Yosuke said. "So, Jaune, we in or out?"

"Wha-I mean-it's possible-but-!" Jaune stuttered.

"I heard it's possible, good enough for me!" Yosuke said.

"Ooh~" Teddie said, bouncing around in delight! "We're bringing back the Beauty Pageant? You can sign me up to judge that again!"

"Yosuke, Teddie, are you really being serious?" Yu asked.

"Come on Narukami," Yosuke said. "You can't deny, this is a really good idea!"

"I actually think I can," Yu replied. "I mean, with girls like Weiss, Yumi, Linne, Scharlachrot, Blake, or Yuzuriha, we know far more deadly women that could potentially kill us for pulling shenanigans like this."

"Exactly!" Yosuke said, failing to see the problem. "We've got so many more beautiful girls around now. It'd be a crime if the people didn't get a chance to admire their beauty. And plus... you'll get to see Weiss-chan in a swimsuit~"

"Let's do this!" Yu said, his eyes shining as his glasses miraculously appeared on his brow.

"Narukami?" Hyde asked nervously.

"We are doing this pageant!" Yu said. "Anybody got a problem with that will have to go through me!" He now appeared even deadlier with his sword at his side and the image of Izanagi hovering over his head.

"O-okay, okay!" Naoto said. "Just-just don't hurt anybody!"

"Sensei's passion for the feminine form is unlimited!" Teddie said with awe.

"This is so damn stupid," Kanji said, rubbing his head. "You know that when they get wind of this we're all gonna get into trouble, right?"

"We'll worry about that when the time arises," Yosuke said. "Besides, by the time they hear about it, it'll already be too late."

"Wait a second," Hyde said. "We should still think about this."

"Little bro. Think about it," Yosuke said, putting his hands to Hyde's shoulders. "Ruby-chan. Swimsuit. Do you accept?"

Hyde wanted to say 'no.' He really did. But for some reason, the word just wouldn't come out as Yosuke's own words bounced around on the inside of his skull, pulling about potential mental images that sucked away every ounce of willpower he tried to summon back.

"I thought as much," Yosuke said, clapping Hyde on the cheek.

"W-wait! I didn't say anything!" Hyde said, face red.

"You didn't need to," Yosuke replied.

Suddenly a smaller figure walked over and pushed the two aside. They were fairly short, with a head of dark hair and wore a uniform not unlike a male version of Noel's, but obviously made for a male, over his small frame. "Excuse me a moment," the androgynous figure said. They held their hands to the air, before a larger man, about Ragna's size, with wild black hair and a black cape fell from the sky and landed right on top of him, the smaller one managing to catch the man before he hit the ground!

The man laughed in delight, as he was stood back up. "Thank you Hibiki," the man said. "I know I can always count on you."

"Kagura," Hibiki said, "I would wish you'd refrain from flirting so much with the female officials of the other worlds. There's only so much that can happen before one of them takes too much from your antics and initiates a conflict between worlds."

"I'll admit, things got a bit carried away there," Kagura replied. He only just now caught sight of the other younger men standing around. "Oh, hello there," he said. "Are we interrupting something?"

"Uh... not exactly," Yosuke replied. "So who might you be?"

"Kagura Mutsuki," the man replied, before clapping a hand to the smaller man's shoulder. "And this is Hibiki Kohaku. We were just in the middle of a meeting with one of these Atlesian officials before-"

"Kagura!" a feminine voice screamed.

"Speaking of whom," Kagura said casually.

The others turned to see Weiss's older sister, Winter, marching over with her body giving off a cold aura of rage! It appeared as if Kagura had certainly enraged her in some way! "If you think I'm done with you, you're dead wrong!" she said.

"I rest my case," Hibiki said, shaking his head.

"Well you can't very well change a person's nature," Kagura said, not the least bit frightened.

"Oh crap!" Yosuke said, pointing fretfully at Winter. "It's Weiss! Except bigger! And angrier!"

"Really dude?" Naoto asked, as Yosuke hid behind him.

"Hi Winter," Yu said, cutting off the Schnee from Kagura.

Winter blinked curiously, taken aback by Yu's presence. "Narukami?" she asked. "What're you doing here?"

"I was just taking a look at the fairgrounds for the Festival," Yu replied. "And how are you?"

"I was about to punish this letch for his gaudy behavior earlier," Winter replied. "When we were supposed to be simply having a meeting about our respective military agencies in the hopes of forming an alliance, he instead thought his time would be better spent trying to rub up against me!"

"Don't blame me," Kagura said. "Blame nature. Blame the sexual desires of our biology stemmed from your voluptuous appearance fueling my most primal instincts."

"See what I mean!?" Winter said, face radiant as she held a blade out towards Kagura!

"I-it's okay," Yu said, even the normally calm Kingpin of Steel feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of this. "I'll handle it."

"What?" Winter asked.

"I'll keep him straight," Yu replied. "You get some rest. You seem really stressed."

Winter blinked a few times, before sighing in exasperation. "Fine," she said. "I really don't want to deal with this idiocy anymore. Good luck, Yu."

She walked away as Yu let loose a sigh of relief. "Well," Kagura said. "That was very kind of you."

"I hardly did it for you," Yu said bluntly. "I just didn't want to have Winter lose her temper any more."

"You knew that beautiful lady, sensei?" Teddie asked.

"Yeah," Narukami replied. "She's Weiss's older sister, so how could I not?"

"You never told any of us that you met Weiss's older sister!" Jaune said.

"Nobody asked me," Yu replied.

"Well," Hibiki said, "I appreciate the help all the same. You can understand that keeping Kagura in line can be rather exhausting."

"Believe us," Kanji said, "we can relate." His eyes fell upon Teddie, who was still bouncing on his feet happily. And that wasn't even mentioning Katsuragi, who was thankfully elsewhere with the rest of the Hanzo girls.

"Well, as my friend here said," Kagura said, "we appreciate your help. Until another day, boys." The man and his aide walked away, leaving the group of boys to their own devices.

"Now then," Yosuke said, pulling himself together without the fear of Winter looming over him. "Where were we? Oh yes. All in favor of setting up a Beauty Pageant for the Vytal Festival and listing the girls in?"

"Aye!" Teddie said enthusiastically.

"Aye," Sun, Yu and Neptune said calmly.

"...Aye..." Hyde and Jaune said with a defeated tone.

"The 'ayes' have it," Yosuke said proudly.

"Wait a damn!" Kanji said. "You didn't say all opposed!"

"Tut-tut! Majority rules, Kanji," Teddie said. "Even if you and Naoto say 'no' you're still against seven!"

"He's got a point," Naoto said.

"So you're really against it, Naoto?" Hyde asked.

"Obviously," Naoto replied. "Not only do I want to go nowhere near any of the girls when this is going on, for multiple reasons," he said as his face turned red, "I also just don't see the appeal of doing this."

"Fine," Kanji agreed. "But when the girls get wind of this, make it clear that the two of us wanted nothing to do with this shit! That way when they end up getting back at you, we won't get thrown under the bus!"

"We'll see," Yosuke said, already caught in his own fantasizing over the girls in the Beauty Pageant.

However, he suddenly jumped as he turned to the leaving Kagura and Hibiki. "Hey, Kagura!" he said, catching the older man's attention.

"What's up?" he asked.

"You busy tomorrow afternoon?" Yosuke asked.

Kagura gave a shrug. "I didn't have anything planned yet," he said. "Why do you ask?"

And so, Yosuke and the others got the approval and established a Beauty Pageant for the Vytal Festival, singing up most of the girls they knew for it. And naturally, when the girls in question caught wind of it, they were not the least bit happy.

The ones signed up were the whole of Team RWBY, the girls of the Investigation Team save for Naoto Shirogane, along with Yumi, Asuka, and Katsuragi.

* * *

"Hey there! Sion Eltnam Atlasia, or Eltnum, here! I'm sure many of you are curious about why some of the girls were left out, so allow me to elucidate!"

"For starters, everyone felt that the risk would be too great with Yagyu, Homura, or Scharlachrot. Also, not only did they feel that Heart or Hibari were far too innocent to be subjected to such events, but they also knew that if they signed up Hibari than Yagyu would assassinate them. Same thing goes with Scharlachrot murdering them for signing up Weiß. Or Ragna murdering them for signing up Celica."

"And as for why Pyrrha, Yuzuriha, Makoto, Ikaruga, Orie, Noel, or the rest of the Gessen girls or Homura's Squad weren't signed up... Blame the author for being too lazy."

That's not true! It would just take way too long and get stale fast! Plus, I'm sure if Mirai got signed up, it'd get incredibly illegal.

* * *

And that is how Yosuke found himself about to be murdered by Weiss, as the Ice Queen held him by the neck in the middle of the fairgrounds, her body steaming with cold energy. The other girls were nearby as well, letting Weiss get all her frustration vented before they even thought about getting closer to take their own shot at the Prince of Junes, and the other guys simply waiting to see if their compatriot would live to see the pageant he was so adamant about making.

"Give me one reason," Weiss growled. "Come on! I dare you! Give me a reason why I should allow you to live!"

"I had the best intentions!" Yosuke said. "I was just trying to spice up this Festival! Besides, everyone here loves you all, so what's the big deal!?"

"The big deal is that we're just gonna be ogled by trash like you!" Weiss yelled.

"Hey! I resent that!" Yosuke replied.

"Captain Resentment!" Yang cheered.

"Set myself up for that one," Yosuke said resolutely.

"And you had a lot of gaul to sign us up again, Hanamura-kun!" Chie yelled, itching to get her own shot at Yosuke.

"Well it wouldn't be right that every other girl get the chance to be admired and you, Yukiko, or Rise didn't!" Yosuke replied.

"Even though you knew none of us would _want _to get on there!?" Chie retorted.

"At least feel appreciated!" Yosuke replied. "I easily could've _not _signed you up and let all the other girls go on stage while you got left out. Tell me you wouldn't have been offended!"

"Knowing your real motives," Chie said, "I really wouldn't be."

Weiss rolled her eyes, catching sight at the scant few who had no issue with this, including Yang, Rise, Katsu, and Yukiko.

"What is wrong with you all?" Weiss asked. "Do you seriously have no issue with any of this?"

"Not really," Yang replied with a shrug. "I mean, if they want to check me out I got no problem. I know I'm a looker."

"Same," Katsu replied. "I spend so much time staring at others, how about I let other people get a good gander at me too?"

"I don't really mind," Yukiko added. "I guess it might be fun to try it again."

"Same," Rise said. "I spent so much time doing this as an idol already it's old hat to me."

"How can they be so calm?" Weiss asked.

"They've got their quirks," Yumi replied. Her gaze turned over to Blake and Asuka, who were among the more thoughtful of the group of girls. "What about you two?" she asked. "How do you feel about this?"

"I just accepted it," Blake replied. "I mean, it's not like the guys are going to _not _let us go on now, so best to just deal with the BS and move along. The faster we go through it, the sooner we don't have to deal with it any longer."

"Me?" Asuka said. "I've gone through way worse than this far more regularly. The worst thing about this is having to risk dealing with Katsu."

"Why do you think that's a problem?" Katsu said, appearing behind Asuka before anyone could even think, grabbing firmly onto Asuka's chest and beginning to massage!

"Gah! Katsu! Seriously!?" Asuka yelled, struggling to tear herself out!

"Could you not?" Blake asked, pushing Katsu's head. "Like, for once?"

Katsu blinked a few times as Asuka was released, before grinning wickedly. "Nope," Blake said, kicking Katsu straight in the chest, knocking her off her feet! "I saw where that was going."

"Hang on a minute!" Ruby said. "Where's Naoto on this list?"

"Why would you bring that up to them!?" Naoto (S.) replied, clapping a hand on Ruby's mouth.

"We figured it'd be easier to skip Naoto-kun," Hyde replied. "According to what Yosuke and Yu said about the last time they did this, she wouldn't even get on stage during the swimsuit portion... and she won."

"That is true," Yu replied. "We figured that rather than risk her just up and winning again, we skip it and decide to get a more balanced match."

"You're saying this like it's a game, Yu Narukami," Weiss said. "And you know that I am now very unhappy with you. So do you have any words to defend yourself?"

"That I do," Narukami said.

Weiss had an eyebrow raised as she looked at her crush - I mean, Yu. She was used to being able to intimidate others and commit verbular slaughter. Part of it was because of her harsh upbringing as a Schnee. Part of it was because, when looking at her on the surface, save for the scar over her left eye she was a rather unassuming individual and needed to show she was not one to be messed with.

Yu was one of the only people that didn't ever get intimidated by her. Even some of her closer friends like Hyde, Orie, or Blake could still get intimidated by her whenever she got aggravated. But Yu? It seemed like he never really got scared of anything.

It wasn't that he didn't take her seriously that was the issue. It was that he didn't take _anything _seriously.

And Weiss saw firsthand as to why, as for the next several minutes Yu was nothing but a blur of words and expressions that made his message crystal clear! Weiss could only dream of being as convincing as he could be because she found every ounce of her resistance dragged away from her as Yu seemed to be spelling everything out to their last atom to the point where Weiss found she physically could not argue with him!

"And that is why you _must _compete!" Yu said finally, with Yosuke nodding in approval behind him.

"O-okay, okay!" Weiss said, waving her hands. "You made your point explicitly clear! We'll compete! We all will! Just... just stop talking already!"

"How did he do that?" Ruby asked, her brain having malfunctioned midway through that several minute long rant.

"Best you don't know," Chie replied. "It's easier to just not bother arguing anymore."

"And I'm glad we could all agree on this," Yosuke said.

Weiss rubbed her head, taking a glance over at the Unknown Actor who was still standing off to the side. "And Hyde," she said, "you agreed to this?"

"I... I couldn't not!" Hyde replied. "You saw just how convincing they could be!"

"And by 'they' you mean Narukami," Ruby said.

"Yes I do," Hyde replied, pretending that Yosuke's earlier defense about Ruby in a swimsuit hadn't happened nor had it affected Hyde on a spiritual level.

"I'll take that," Yosuke said.

"What about you Kanji?" Weiss asked. "Did they convince you, too?"

"Nope," Kanji replied. "I had nothing to do with this. After what happened last time, I really did not want anything to do with it."

"Same here," Naoto (K.) said. "We were both smart enough to know that every single one of you would be pissed about it. So we just opted out to watch the inferno from a safe distance."

"Good to know," Chie said. "Ladies? A word?"

"Gladly," Weiss said, sending one last glare at Yosuke. "Don't think this is over. Any of you."

The girls walked away, sinister intent coming off of them in waves.

"I sense retaliation coming," Hyde said.

"Don't worry," Yosuke said, "we can handle it."

"You must either be really brave or really stupid," Jaune said.

"Personally, I go with the latter," Kanji said.

"Come on man!" Yosuke said.

Once the girls were a safe distance away, Chie looked at them all. "Okay," she said, "the boys want to play it that way; fine. We'll just have to fire back."

"I am all ears," Weiss said.

"Last time this happened during our school's culture festival," Chie siad, "we set them up in a drag contest as a comeback."

"Drag?" Yumi said. "Isn't that when boys dress up as girls?"

"For lack of a better definition," Weiss replied. "But I'm already a fan of this idea."

"So you want to do the same thing again?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Chie said. "And now we got even more boys to turn into pretty women. So who's with me?"

Asuka laughed. "This sounds like fun!" she said. "I can just imagine what Jaune or Yosuke would look like as girls!"

"Yeah!" Yang agreed. "It'll be really funny!"

"It's not supposed to be funny!" Chie said. "It's retaliation for them putting us in a Beauty Pageant against our wishes!"

"Correct," Weiss replied. "They take our dignity, so we take theirs."

* * *

Sure enough, later that same afternoon, the guys saw a new flier advertising a Drag Contest with the guys' names all listed. Some of them were not happy. And one in particular was fuming. Guess who.

"Seriously!?" Yosuke yelled, looking at Weiss and Chie with burning red eyes! "You did this shit again!?"

"Funny," Chie said. "Because that's the same thing that we were thinking when you set up a Beauty Pageant again!"

"You got nothing you can say that'll change our minds Yosuke," Weiss said. "You don't scare us."

"I'll admit," Hyde said, "I am a little bit peeved with the fact that you chose to do this to me, Weiss. And here I thought you and I were friends."

"Well that's also what I was thinking," Weiss said, "when you chose to sign me up for a Beauty Pageant! Why do none of you understand this!?"

"Hey, at least the Pageant let people see how beautiful you all are," Sun said. "For a Drag contest you have to make us all look like girls! And like anybody wants to see that!"

"It's no less undignified!" Chie yelled.

"It's totally different!" Neptune yelled.

"Well," Jaune said, "can't say we didn't see something like this coming."

"Everyone unwilling to relent?" Naoto (S.) asked. "I'm inclined to agree. It was rather predictable. We have too many alphas here to bother backing down and admitting when they've been beaten."

"While I'm thinking about it," Sun said, "where's your counterpart? How come he wasn't signed up?"

"Well seeing that he and Kanji-kun feigned responsibility," Naoto replied, "he was found innocent and not responsible for the Beauty Pageant, unlike the rest of you. So he was exempt from having to compete in the Drag Contest. My guess is that both of them ran off to avoid the ensuing fireworks."

"Is that why Kanji wasn't signed up either?" Hyde asked. "Cause he wasn't deemed responsible?"

"Not really," Naoto replied. "Truth be told, those of us girls who saw the last Drag Contest didn't want to go through the sight that we bore witness to again."

"Ah..." Hyde and Sun said, already having a pretty clear picture painted in their minds.

"Well what about him!?" Jaune asked, pointing at Teddie. "He was just as much a part of this as Yosuke was!"

"Oh, just throw me under the bus, why don't you?" Yosuke said.

"Well much like with me in the Beauty Pageant," Naoto said, a hint of red on her cheeks from being reminded of that, "we all agreed that he would be a shoe in to win."

"Flattery will get you some _beary _good rewards," Teddie said flirtatiously.

"Begone from me," Naoto said, shoving him over.

"And speaking of last time," Yosuke said, "there is _no _way that I'm going through another Drag Contest - AGAIN!"

"Well if I have to go through a Beauty Pageant," Weiss said, "then you have to go through the Drag Contest!"

"Do not!" Yosuke said.

"Do too!" Weiss replied.

"Do not!" Yosuke yelled.

"Do too!" Weiss yelled.

"Do not!" Yosuke shouted.

"Do too!" Weiss shouted.

"Well, I guess this is happening," Hyde said.

"Will you both just give up and get married already!?" Chie yelled.

"What?!" Yosuke and Weiss yelled.

"Now that we have your attention," Ruby said, "I think it might be best that we just give up while we're ahead. Boys got the Drag Contest, girls got the Beauty Pageant, so let's just accept it and move on. Nobody's happy, so why bother trying to make the other side less happy?"

Weiss and Yosuke conceded that it was a good point. Truth be told, practically nobody there was remotely happy with the circumstances they were going through, so they figured it'd be best to just accept and move along without any more arguing. The Beauty Pageant was first, so the girls all moved along to get themselves ready, with the boys placing themselves amongst the steadily growing crowd of viewers, mostly students from the gathering schools.

"Gentlemen," Yosuke said, rubbing his hands. "No matter what may happen to us later, I think we can concur that this right here will make it all worth it."

"Here, here!" Sun said.

"I still think this is dumb," Hyde said.

"Ruby-chan," Teddie said, causing Hyde's face to redden.

"Works every time," Neptune said, placing a low five to the bear in satisfaction.

Yu caught sight of another familiar face, spotting a trademarked black beret and sunglasses approaching. "Hey Coco-senpai," he greeted. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, Narukami," Coco greeted, giving a high five to the Kingpin. "How could I not come here? Combining this with the Drag Contest afterwards feels like a marathon for me."

"You and I can relate, Coco-chan!" Teddie said, bouncing over to the leader of Team CFVY. "But there's no contest required to see your beauty!"

"What's with the talking doll?" Coco asked, causing Teddie to collapse in shame!

Hyde watched Teddie crumple with an entertained look on his face, before he found his head patted somewhat affectionately. He turned to see Mitsuru smiling down at him, with Akihiko and Ragna standing dutifully beside her.

"Oh, Mitsuru," Hyde greeted. "What are you doing here?"

"The girls called me for assistance," Mituru replied. "Something about... a Drag Contest you boys are competing in? And you'd require help in looking a bit more... feminine?"

The boys all crumpled at the reminder of what would lie in store for them once the pageant was over.

"Barring that," Yu said, "what are you two doing here?" he asked in reference to Ragna and Akihiko.

"Well," Ragna said, "I was enjoying a moment's peace with the Shadow Operatives before Yang and Ruby both texted me about this. And apparently because they're my responsibility, Mitsuru insisted that I come over. Naturally, she threatened to freeze me if I didn't."

"Sure I did," Mitsuru said. Truth be told, Ragna came over because he wanted to. With how often he'd deny it, he had grown fond of the half-sisters and found it difficult to avoid following them, even if they frustrated him with their behavior.

Mitsuru had her own reasons for attending, as stated before. And as for Akihiko?

"Well, I didn't really have much else to do," Akihiko replied. "With these two coming over, I just came along for the ride."

"I see," Yosuke said.

"So tell me," Mitsuru added, looking to the judge's booth, "what brings _him _here?"

Naturally, she was referring to Kagura. The man in question was sitting in the booth with Hibiki dutifully seated beside him. Naturally, Teddie was set to be the third judge, but was also the announcer. Hence why he was waiting patiently with his companions before moving onto the stage when the show actually began.

"We bumped into him earlier," Hyde replied, "and we, and by we I mean Yosuke, thought that he'd make a great judge. But that does bring up another question, how do you know him?"

"How else?" Mitsuru asked. "He came over to interview us and spent a good majority of his time harassing myself, Yukari, Fuuka, and Aigis."

"Ah," the boys replied, thinking it sounded right.

Hyde looked over his shoulder, spotting Akatsuki walking past with his usually curious look on his face. "Oh, Akatsuki," Hyde said, "what brings you here?"

"Oh," the soldier said in surprise. "Terribly sorry to disturb you, little brother," upon hearing this Hyde cringed, "but I was still investigating the Kingdom of Vale and appear to have gotten misdirected."

"If Aigis has a GPS," Yu said, "she might keep him from getting lost. But, please join us. We're about to watch the Beauty Pageant."

"Beauty Pageant?" Akatsuki said curiously. "Forgive me, but I don't think I'm quite familiar with how those operate."

Checking his watch, Teddie bounced in delight as he saw the time was set. "Well my dear Akatsuki," he said, "allow me to educate you!"

With a zip of his suit, he popped out in his human body, landing on the stage, turning to the crowd with a shower of sparkles!

"Wow," Coco said. "He sure knows how to make an entrance."

"Doesn't he?" Yu said.

"Welcome, ladies and gentle-bears!" he declared. "My name is Teddie! And I hope you're all having a great a great Vytal Festival!"

The crowd cheered in response.

"Now please," Teddie continued, "let's give another big round of applause for our lovely ladies in our first, but hopefully far from last, Vytal Festival Beauty Pageant!"

From behind the stage, Weiss was rubbing her brow in irritation. "Let's get this over with."

Asuka turned from Weiss to Ruby, who was trembling lightly. "Ruby, are you gonna be okay?" Asuka asked.

"I... might have a bit of... stage fright?" Ruby said.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Yumi asked.

"I didn't think it'd be appropriate!" Ruby said.

"It's totally appropriate!" Chie said. "If you can't go on, then don't go on!"

"But I have to!" Ruby said. "For my team!"

This was going to take awhile.

"First up," Teddie said, "we have a girl who you all know and love! (And most probably fear!) Please give it up for the Ice Queen of Beacon Academy; Weiss Schnee!"

Weiss strutted confidently onto the stage with a flick of her ponytail. The crowd did react positively to her appearance, which did soften her otherwise cold and reserved look.

"Do tell us a bit about yourself, m'lady," Teddie said proudly.

With a roll of her eyes, Weiss relented. "Well," she said, "I'm a Huntress-in-training, naturally. And the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, also naturally. And sorry to disappoint you, specifically, Teddie, but I am currently unavailable."

"Le-ouch!" Teddie said with a crumple!

"Unavailable?" Yu asked. "Who is she dating?"

"Are you that dense, dude?" Yosuke said under his breath. "She said that so she can date you without any competition."

"And with a wounded pride," Teddie continued, "allow me to introduce our next girl. She's training to be a shinobi, but you didn't hear it from me! Give it up for the girl whose name my research tells me translates out to 'Flying Bird': Asuka no-idea-what-her-name-is!"

_Did you have to tell people I'm a shinobi? _Asuka thought._ Ninjas are supposed to be stealthy._

Regardless, with a confident smile, she walked out on stage and waved to the crowd. "Hey there!" she said. "I guess I'm happy to be here!"

The crowd gave her a warm welcome.

"Well how about that," Hyde said. "The crowd seemed to like her confident introduction."

"Doesn't surprise me," Jaune said. "Weiss looked like she didn't want to be here at all."

"So Asuka-chan," Teddie said, "my sources tell me your clothes don't tend to stick around back where you're from, so are my witness reports accurate in saying your typical form of undergarments are rainbow colored?"

"What!?" Asuka said, clutching her skirt in an attempt to protect her undercarriage! "T-that's not for you to know!"

Teddie looked not the least bit regretful, until a shoe connected with the side of his head!

"Where the heck did that come from?" Jaune asked.

"Somebody got mad, I can tell you that," Coco said, rocking on her heels and hiding the fact that she was now missing a shoe.

"W-well," Teddie said, "attempting to maintain my dignity, let's move on! The next girl is a real carnivore from the Inaba Investigation Team! Give it up for the Spunky Dragon With Deadly Legs: Chie Satonaka!"

The girl in question despondently walked onto the stage, giving a wave. "Uh... h-hey," she said.

The crowd seemed fairly enthusiastic to see her.

"Hm," Akihiko said. "Looks like they like a tomboy."

"You sure seemed to get invested," Mitsuru observed.

"Hey, what can I say?" Akihiko said. "The MC's got energy."

"So, Chie," Teddie said, "is it true you've got a helpless heart throb on your team that none of you girls have been able to claim? Meaning he's incredibly available for any girls in the crowd?"

"If you mean a pathetically desperate guy trying to get a date," Chie replied, "then yes. But personally, I'm hoping that no girl is subjected to having to be with him."

Teddie doubled over as the crowd burst into laughter! Chie's face did seem to light up, relieved with her ability to make the crowd laugh.

"Yikes," Sun said. "Most of these girls are totally relentless to him!"

"He brings it on himself," Yosuke, Yu, Coco, Hyde, Mitsuru, and even Akatsuki all agreed.

"Why does everyone have it out for this bear today?" Teddie said. "Anyway, let's keep it moving. Next up we have a girl who has attracted every boy in Beacon Academy's heart from her mysterious aura and book loving nature! The Black Shadow -! Eh... of Team RWBY: Blake Belladonna!"

Blake walked out, as aloof as ever, the crowd cheering for her all the same! Blake could tell that Teddie purposefully left out the 'Cat' part of her Phantom Field nickname, (in full, Black Shadow Cat,) and was especially thankful for that.

"Wow," Sun observed. "They really like her."

"No surprise there," Yu added.

"Agreed," Coco replied. "Beacon loves Team RWBY."

"So Blake," Teddie said, "tell us a bit about you. Any hobbies aside from the reading?"

"Well, I do write from time to time," Blake said.

"Ooh," Teddie observed. "What have you got?"

"A short story," Blake shrugged. "About a Huntress who finds a bear and skins it alive."

"Yowzaah!" Teddie said. "I'm sensing a theme of hostility. Ahem! Next up, we have a girl whose cold exterior hides the warmth of a Gessen Academy Elite! Give it up for one Frigidly Flowing Femme Fatale: Yumi don't-know-her-last-name-either!"

With a confident flip, Yumi bounded onto the stage, landing beside the other girls! The crowd erupted in applause at the sight of her!

"Wow!" Neptune said. "They _really _like her!"

"She's got a real appeal about her," Jaune added.

"So, Yumi-chan," Teddie said, "tell me, is it true that all of your fellow Gessen Girls really push for you on the dating market?"

"Sorry, Mr. Teddie," Yumi replied, "but that is entirely false. As a shinobi I am not looking for a significant other."

"And another one kicks me to the dust!" Teddie said.

"Well, next one around we have is the Princess of the Amagi Inn, and Yasogami High's most sought over bachelorette! Give it up for the Investigation Team's Unconquerable Snow Black: Yukiko Amagi!"

Yukiko confidently walked out to the stage, the crowd erupting nearly as loud as they did for Yumi! "Um, hello there!" Yukiko greeted.

"And like always," Yu said, "Yukiko is a crowd stealer."

"So Yukiko," Teddie said. "Is it true that no man has been able to seize that heart of yours?"

"No," Yukiko replied.

There was an awkward silence, as Teddie was clearly waiting to hear more. "And..." he said. "Is there anyone you... _want _to be with?"

"No," Yukiko replied.

"And same as before," Teddie yelled, "I am vanquished by Yukiko's cruelty!"

"It would appear that Teddie is continuously being bludgeoned," Akatsuki observed.

"With the girls we have," Hyde said, "it's pretty normal behavior."

"Well with four girls left," Teddie said, "the hope is that I will survive continuous verbal slaughtering. Next, we have a girl with hair made of fire and blazing fists to match! She's Beacon Academy's resident party girl, give it up for the Sunny Little Dragon (little being relative): Yang Xiao Long!"

Yang made her own entrance by flipping onto the stage and pointing devil horns into the air! The crowd erupted louder than ever!

"And like always," Sun said, "Yang makes her arrival with a _Yang_!"

The rest of the group looked to Sun with a myriad of disappointed expressions.

"Was that supposed to be funny?" Akatsuki asked.

"Guess not," Sun replied.

"So Yang," Teddie said, "word on the street is you're pretty involved in the dating scene. Any guy that catches your eye yet?"

"Well for once," Yang replied, "your sources are accurate. Yeah, I've dabbled, but nobody's ever caught a bite. Nobody's been able to tame the dragon, if you know what I mean~"

"Really Yang!?" a voice that sounded like Ruby replied.

"Next one along," Teddie said, "we've got yet another blonde bombshell! Hanzo's own person after my own bear heart, give it up for Katsuragi!"

The girl confidently walked out and gave the crowd a tongue bearing smile!

"So Katsuragi," Teddie said, "how much do you love the human body?"

"As much as you love the feminine body exclusively, old teddie bear!" Katsu replied, the two promptly giving one another a high five!

"Of freaking course," the boys from the crowd said.

"Second to last, but certainly not least," Teddie proceeded, "we have the idol of Inaba with an attraction to a certain Kingpin! Give it up for the Scandalous Superstar Idol: Rise Kujikawa!"

The girl skipped onto the stage and gave a patented idol wave to the audience with both hands! "Hi-hi! My name's Rise Kujikawa!" she greeted. "I just want to say that I've been loving my stay in Vale! It's a great place to stay, and I give a big old shout out to all my fans who I've made here! Love ya lots! And my next tour is in the works!"

She gave a wink with a peace sign, and the crowd erupted into applause!

"Wow," Hyde said. "She nailed that!"

"She's an idol," Jaune said. "I guess she wasn't lying when she said this was old hat to her."

From back stage, Ruby was watching with a dumbfounded look on her face! _How am I supposed to follow that up, _she thought, _when I can barely work my legs up to moving on stage!_

"And with that," Teddie said, "we now have last participant! So sad! But hopefully we can work out a contract to come back later in the week! You know her! You love her! Give it up for the silver eyed Rose Red of Team RWBY: Ruby Rose!"

With a disgruntled noise, Ruby made her way onto stage, with her hood hiding her face. Unfortunately, both Yang and Weiss were not willing to let her hide for ever and yanked her hood off her head, with her eyes now turning spirals at the sight of the crowd looking at her!

"So Ruby," Teddie said, "tell us a bit about yourself."

"Uh..." Ruby said, still spinning in her sight! "I-I... Ahem! I'm the leader of Team RWBY - training to be a Huntress - favorite music is rock and metal - favorite movie is Girl in the Woods, it's a great movie to see with friends - I totally ship Black Sun - and I currently owe Velvet twenty bucks-!"

Both Yang and Asuka promptly slammed their hands over Ruby's mouth and pulled her hood back over her head to get her to shut up! Weiss and Blake both stared at the floor in shame while Yumi and Rise looked rather impressed by that display, Chie and Katsu were just confused, and Yukiko was caught in a laughing fit!

Hyde had his head aimed to the ground as he rubbed his eyes. Akatsuki had an analytical expression on his face, while everyone else had expressions ranging from pity to embarrassment.

"She seems stressed," Akatsuki said.

"You don't say," Hyde muttered.

"Yeah, I was worried that would happen," Ragna added.

"Poor Ruby-chan," Akihiko said. "Yang told me she gets stage fright, but that was just... depressing."

"They say the whole world's a stage," Yu observed, "but it appears Ruby-chan has not registered that."

"How poignant," Neptune added.

"And with that," Teddie said, finishing making notes in a note pad he had. "We move on to the moment that I've personally been dying for! The swimsuit portion!"

All the girls collectively hung their heads in shame, whilst the crowd seemed not remotely as disappointed. Yosuke in particular was grinning with wicked delight!

"Gentlemen," Yosuke said. "The moment of truth has finally arrived."

"We are so ready!" Sun and Neptune said in delight, with Jaune and Hyde sighing in defeat beside them.

Before long, the girls all changed and got out on stage in their respective swimwear. Chie, Yukiko, and Rise were all wearing the swimsuits that the guys had gotten used to seeing them in during their past interactions. It appears that they'd grown rather fond of them. The shinobi girls also seemed to follow a similar pattern, wearing white, string tie bikinis.

And as for Team RWBY? Well, Weiss wore a white bikini not unlike the shinobi girls, but naturally a lot more frilly and extravagant. As she stood on the stage, she gave a dismissive huff.

"Well Narukami," Yosuke said. "You got to see Weiss-chan in a swimsuit? How does it feel?"

"Perfect," Yu replied proudly, a warm smile on his face showing he was genuinely happy.

Yang was wearing a yellow bikini top with gunmetal gray highlights, with a pair of trunk bottoms. She was as confident as ever as she shot a finger gun to the crowd with a cheeky, "bang."

Blake was out next, wearing a rather concealing top that stretched from around her neck to the bottom of her belly, with black shorts not unlike Yang's yellow ones. She seemed rather bored, giving out a sigh not unlike Weiss.

"And you got to see Blake," Neptune told Sun. "So how does it feel, dude?"

"It feels amazing!" Sun said happily.

"And last but not least! Give it up for Ruby Rose!" Teddie declared.

The boys were all startled by the sight of Ruby coming out on stage. Her face was a bright red, as red as the hoodie she wore with her swimwear in place of her hood. She had on a black bikini, but the top and only the side of the bottom was visible as she also wore a red towel at her waist. The hoodie seemed enough to help calm her as she took a breath, smiling out at the crowd with a two fingered salute.

Sun whisteled. "Wow," he said. "I'll admit, I'm impressed. She's working it."

"Ruby-chan never ceases to amaze," Yu said. "Isn't that right, Hyde?"

He looked over at one of his best friends, seeing what he expected to find: Hyde's face matching Ruby's signature color, eyes wide and mouth agape.

"I think Kido's character arc is over," Yosuke said. "He's officially reached nirvana."

"W-wha?" Hyde asked. "What time is it?"

"Doesn't matter," Yosuke replied.

"How long was I out?" Hyde asked.

"Doesn't matter!" Sun added.

"Now, ladies and gents!" Teddie said. "My judges and I will deliberate, so please feel free to cast your votes!" Teddie hopped over to the booth with Kagura and Hibiki, the bear jolly as ever as he sat with his fellow judges.

"So, gentlemen," Teddie said, "what're we thinking?"

"I'm thinking most of these girls are too young for me," Kagura said. "So I began tuning things out for about ten minutes."

"Well that doesn't help!" Teddie said.

"If I may?" Hibiki said.

A few minutes passed before Teddie popped back over to the stage, standing before the crowd! "And after much deliberation," he said, "we have concurred that through her innocent aura, but confident spirit when faced with the swimsuit portion, the winner of the first Vytal Festival Beauty Pageant is: Ruby-chan!"

"I did what with the who now?" Ruby asked, honestly confused.

"Congrats, sis!" Yang cheered, hugging Ruby, as Blake and Weiss both seemed relieved it was all over, while still happy for their leader!

"Well," Yosuke said. "How about that. Ruby-chan won. Go figure."

"Doesn't surprise me," Hyde said.

"How about we go congratulate them?" Yu said.

"Not so fast boys," Mitsuru said. "Don't forget, you've still got a job to do. So... let's get to work!" she added, pulling out a roll of duct tape that she began to unwind!

The boys gulped in fear, even Ragna looking somewhat startled.

* * *

"Ladies," Weiss said, "no matter what may have happened to us before, I think we can concur that this right here will make it all worth it."

"Agreed," the others said.

"I still do not understand this," Akatsuki said. The girls all looked to him. They had positioned themselves in the spot that the boys had been standing in not long before, with Akatsuki, Akihiko, Ragna, and Coco all standing beside them.

"Well, just wait Akatsuki," Chie replied. "The most you need to know, is this is fueled primarily by revenge. As punishment for putting us through that."

"So you were there against your will?" Akatsuki asked.

"Wasn't it obvious?" most of the girls asked.

Before long, Mitsuru walked back over to the group. "It took some time," she said, "but I was able to finish my work."

"We thank you again, Mitsuru-san," Rise said. "We're sure that your input will be amazing to help our boys look like the prettiest little girls!"

"How degrading," Akatsuki said.

"And you mean to tell me that what we went through wasn't degrading!?" Chie said.

"Why would it be?" Akatsuki asked. "You were admired for your genuine beauty."

"What do none of these guys get about this?" Chie asked.

"I have no idea," Blake replied. "I've learnt not to question these things."

At that moment, Teddie bounded over to the stage, standing before the crowd confidently once again! "Ladies and grizzlies!" he greeted. "Thank you all for sticking around once again for our next event of the afternoon! And this one is sure to make many of you question your sexuality, as we now have the first ever Vytal Festival Drag Competition!"

"He's still the MC?" Ruby asked.

"Are you surprised?" Akihiko asked. "He's got heart! What a man!"

"Or a bear," Yang said.

"First up," Teddie declared, "she's a girl with a legacy of power on her back in the country town of Inaba! Give it up for Yosuke-chan!"

Yosuke came out first, and the girls in the crowd were all stunned by what they saw! Yosuke came out wearing the typical Yasogami uniform skirt, with brown leather dress shoes, with a white sweater vest under a white dress shirt, with a red collar. But his... her... face was the most bizarre of all! Yosuke's hair was now long enough to reach hi-he-their shoulders, and still bore a cheeky face that gave nothing away to their gender! Yosuke even offered a cheeky wave, sticking out their tongue to the crowd, who replied with enthusiastic applause!

"What the funking wagnal is this!?" Chie said.

"Is that really Yosuke!?" Yang said. "It looks almost nothing like him! Wait! No! That's not right! It does look like Yosuke, but totally... like-! A girl Yosuke!"

"Was that not the point?" Akatsuki asked.

"W-well... yes... but..." Weiss said. She was at a loss for words. Yosuke was honestly pulling off the look, and looking stinking cute in the process... This was totally against the point of their plan.

"Well now," Teddie said, honestly impressed himself, "Yosuke-chan making waves and starting off strong! And the next one along, we have a welcomed guest from Haven Academy! A girl living by the credo, monkey see, monkey do! Give it up for Sun-chan!"

Sun came out next. This one the girls in the crowd were convinced was going to fail, given how Sun looked so masculine he never even wore a legitimate shirt... But they were sorely disappointed.

Sun came out, and they gaped at the sight! Now, they had jean shorts with sports tape wrapped on their calves, with their hair now long and messy like Yosuke's, reaching the back of their neck, and wrapping around the top of their chest - which was bulging! Did Mitsuru seriously have him wear padding underneath that to emulate... breasts!? Sun shot a cheeky smirk at the crowd, pulling out their staff and balancing it on their shoulders, the crowd erupting just as loud as they did for Yosuke!

"What... the... deuce?" Rise said.

"How?" Ruby asked. "How did they do that!?"

"Seriously, Mitsuru," Ragna said, "what did you do to them?"

"What?" Mitsuru asked. "I was told to make them pretty women, and I did."

"But they... look so... happy!?" Weiss said. "They're not supposed to be happy! They're supposed to be miserable!"

"You're sounding rather villainous about this," Asuka said. "What about you, Blake? ... Blake?"

Asuka turned, she and Ruby jumping in surprise as they saw Blake with a red hot face as she could not break her gaze away from Sun, but internally wanted nothing more than to stop looking!

"Blake! No! Come back!" Ruby said.

"Boy howdy do!" Teddie said, clapping in delight. "Another amazing opening! And I can tell already that this is gonna be a tough match! Next up, we have the leader of my own Investigation Team, and my sensei. A girl who steals hearts and takes names, it's Narukami-chan!"

Yu came out next, and now all the girls in the audience were petrified by what they were going to see! And they were justly so. Yu came out, looking just as feminine as the others. Their waist should not have been as thin as it was, just to note, with their hair now stretching midway down their back, wearing a girl's Yasogami uniform that looked fetching on them. They even had a wooden sword like they had the last time, which they cracked on the stage before balancing on their shoulders, sending a gaze in the direction of their companions in the audience. "Hot right?" they asked.

The girls all promptly turned radiant! "Not again," Chie, Yukiko, and Rise all gulped.

"So you hang out with them often, right?" Coco asked, equally as red.

"Yeah, why?" Yumi asked.

"I gotta start hanging out with you more," Coco grinned.

"Well, looks like your plan failed, huh Weiss?" Ruby asked, receiving only silence. "Weiss? Oh Dust! Weiss!"

She turned to her partner and friend, finding Weiss's face equally as beat red and stunned silent as Blake, her eye twitching in confusion!

"No! Weiss! Don't leave me!" Ruby said.

"This is too much for their hearts to bear!" Yukiko said.

"Sensei! Ooh-la-la!" Teddie sang. "Looks like we got another home run folks, and the momentum is not dying any time soon! Next up, we got Sun-chan's BFF and a girl with a coolness that just never dies (unlike her phobia of water)! Give it up for Neptune-chan!"

Neptune came out next, the girls in the crowd having no idea what to expect! Sure enough, Neptune was out, appearing the least dramatic of the rest, but no less confusing in her-his proportions! Their body was a perfect hourglass shape in Neptune's regular outfit, with a definite bulge in their torso not unlike what their best friend on stage shared, with long, manic blue hair that was accentuated by their standard fade cut! They casually held their arms behind their head, winking to the crowd.

"Clutch?" Sun said.

"Clutch," Neptune replied, fist-bumping their friend.

"I can't take it!" Rise said. "This is way too much for me!"

"I'm loving every minute of this," Katsu said.

"You and me both," Coco said, fist-bumping the ninja. "By the way, Rise, you got something on your nose."

"What?" Rise asked, checking her nose, finding that it was bleeding! "Ah! No, no, no!"

"Well, ladies and grizzlies," Teddie said, "it looks like we've reached the end! But there's no way we're losing our momentum! Our last girl of the night is a wild card from Kanzakai, and wielder of the Insulator! Give it up for Hyde-chan!"

Hyde came out last, stunning the girls in the crowd equally as much as the rest, which was saying a lot! Wearing a red denim skirt in place of their pants, plus red leggings and matching shoes, Hyde was casually holding their hands in their shirt. Their hair was long, and an absolute mess of black and blonde, with a hair clip on their bang that looked like an angry tick mark, accentuated by their firm expression that they were scanning the crowd with.

"Ho-holy cow," Asuka said. "Is it just me or is Hyde intimidating."

"No, it's not you," Chie said. "How're you feeling, Ruby-chan?" She got silence, which reminded her of who she was talking to! "Oh no!"

She looked to Ruby, whose face was the reddest of all! She collapsed on the ground the next instant, totally defeated by the sight she just saw!

"No! Ruby-chan!" Chie yelled.

"And that's the last one, folks!" Teddie said. "The judges and I will deliberate, but please leave your votes!"

Teddie rushed back over, sitting beside Hibiki and Kagura once again! "Well, gentlemen," he said, "I think we can safely say, nobody saw that coming."

"I will admit," Hibiki said, "I was surprised by the transformation."

"How the heck do you expect me to judge that?" Kagura asked.

Back in the crowd, the girls were able to recover, but it was slow going with the boy-girl-people on stage looking at them with confident expressions.

"Ladies," Weiss said, "I think this was a total failure."

"Agreed," Chie said. "The girl- boys! look... way too good."

"And they're acting totally different!" Rise said. "It's like, they don't even know they look like that!"

Teddie marched back on stage, addressing the crowd! "And the judges have decided!" he said. "First up, I would just like to say you were all amazing and look amazing! And feel free to call me anytime you're dressed like this."

The group on stage all looked to Teddie with miffed looks for a moment, before he continued.

"And the winner of the first ever Vytal Festival Drag Show is: Hyde-chan!"

Hyde nodded, still looking firm as the crowd and their companions on stage applauded.

"Thank you all for coming," Teddie said, "and we'll see you next time!"

Teddie ran back into the crowd, popping into his costume that was still seated beside the group.

"Well how about that," Akihiko said. "Ruby and Hyde are the winners."

"I don't feel like a winner," Ruby said. "I just feel confused."

"As do I," Weiss said.

"I think we're all confused," Yang added.

"Yeah," Asuka said. "I don't think anyone was expecting such... dramatic transformations."

"You're welcome," Mitsuru said.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?" Weiss asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Mitsuru said.

"Well," Blake said, "I think it's only fair we go congratulate the gir-boys! on their decisive victory."

"Sure thing," Katsu said. "Maybe we can see them while they're changing~"

"And as usual," Ruby said, "Katsuragi has a one-track mind."

The girls made their way over to the dressing room, where they saw Hyde and Yu throwing their jackets back on, looking natural once again. "Oh, hey," Hyde said. "How's it going?"

"Well," Weiss said, "we're a bit disappointed that you looked as good as you did, Kido. But, I can say it did surprise us."

"Well," Yu said, "we aim to surprise."

"Where're the others?" Asuka asked.

Both Hyde and Yu pointed further back, with Sun approaching first, having to change the least. "Yo," he said. "Did you enjoy the performance?"

"Well look who's cocky," Blake said.

"Well he is now," Yang said, "that he's a guy again."

Blake proceeded to elbow Yang solidly in the gut! "In all seriousness," Blake said, "how did you all do that?"

"Do what?" Neptune asked, appearing behind Sun.

"How did you perform like that?" Blake asked.

"Seriously!" Rise said. "None of you broke character at all! You all looked and acted like... well, girls!"

"Well," Yosuke said, appearing back behind the group, throwing his hoodie back on, "once we saw how good Mitsuru-san made us look, we thought it'd be funny to act accordingly and surprise you girls."

"Don't you think this is over!" Weiss said. "We're getting back at you! One way or another!"

"We look forward to it," Yosuke said smugly.

Weiss looked about ready to bring out Myrtenaster and stab Yosuke with it, when Yu appeared in front of her. "How about I start by getting you something to eat?" he said.

Weiss looked still frustrated, but grabbed Yu by the hand and dragged him away. "Fine," she said. "At least it's nice to see you behaving rationally again, Yu Narukami."

"And there she goes," Yang said.

"That goes double for you, Sun Wukong," Blake said, grabbing Sun. "I need a lot of tea after the ordeal of seeing you with breasts."

"Sounds good to me," Sun said.

As they watched them go, Ruby and Hyde, who'd naturally gravitated towards each other, didn't know what to say to each other.

"So..." Ruby said. "You were really pretty..."

"Thanks," Hyde replied. "I guess. And... you were too."

The two continued to steam in their awkwardness.

"Food?" Hyde asked.

"Food," Ruby replied.

The two set off, not even noticing they began holding hands again.

"And that leaves all the single gents behind," Yang said.

"Eh, what can you do?" Neptune said.

"Y'know, we're open for hanging," Yosuke said. "You can lament to us about your loss."

"No," Chie and Yukiko said, causing Yosuke to collapse.

"Eh," Rise shrugged, pulling Neptune along, the blue haired Huntsman looking rather confident.

"How about you, Yang?" Katsu asked. "You're the only one from your team without a fall guy?"

"Eh," Yang shrugged. "Like I told the bear, I'm without anyone to tie me down. But I'd give it time. I've been working on something. For now, let's just worry about these schmucks."

With a nod from Katsu, the two blondes pulled along Yosuke and Teddie to humour them, catching up with Rise and Neptune. And that was the rare day, when the guys had a perfect victory!

* * *

_**A/N: And there we go! I'll admit, finishing this up, I had fun with it!**_

_**So once again, let me apologize for taking so long with it! However, as it is, this was one of my longest chapters! So it naturally took a bit of time to simmer over! Plus, I had a lot of things to edit and adjust in terms of what characters were present and how others were portrayed.**_

_**Anyway, first things first, let me elaborate a bit on BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle 2.0! I love it! The Extra Story is amazing and definitely gave me more material to work with! The interactions and the amount of goofy material it had shows that the developers had a lot of fun and understood how many players loved the similar interactions from before!**_

_**I can also totally understand why so many people love Naoto Kurogane, and it fuels me with enough drive to actually dedicate a lot of time to Centralfiction to look more at his character! He gave me a lot of vibes of Hyde and I can appreciate that since, obviously, I love Hyde. Also, Celica is a precious child that must be protected at all costs. That is all.**_

_**As an added note, some of my favorite in-game interactions between characters are Naoto and Yosuke: Have a real bro dynamic going for them. Celica and Merkava: Another prime example of Celica's innocence. Susanoo and Neo: Just love how he gets genuinely angered and frustrated with her despite not doing anything aside from just being silent!**_

_**Another interaction I like was Akatsuki and Yang. I dunno, I liked their dynamic and may subtly ship them. I hinted on it in the chapter, but I'm still looking for a genuine mate with Yang that I can ship as hard as I do with the other RWBY girls. So, help me guys.**_

_**Also, I now ship Naoto and Yumi! So there you go readers! Another non-RWBY related ship pairing! Seriously, if you play the Extra Story and just look at their in-game interactions, it's hard not to. Tell me you don't after viewing that!**_

_**As for the chapter itself, I had a lot of fun, like I said. I got to play off of Yosuke and Weiss's rivalry a lot with this one, and I do love that. I feel like I got to take it back a bit, but I stand by it. I find it funny at least.**_

_**The swimsuit portion was one of the things I had to deliberate the most over, namely for Team RWBY, because with the P4 Girls and the SK Girls, they have official swimsuits you can see, but with Team RWBY, the most we have is the light novel RWBY: The Session. I looked as hard as I could, but the most I could find was the front cover, which doesn't show you everything, so I had to improv a bit.**_

_**And as for the Drag Show, I found it'd be even funnier than if they looked weird, to look genuinely amazing! Everything I found was just looking up different genderbent versions of the characters and using those! And they looked too cute that I couldn't not make that happen and have the girls (real ones) react so genuinely confused by it!**_

_**So there you have it folks. I hope it was worth the wait. Again, I genuinely do apologize for how long it took, and hope it does not happen again. Let me know what you guys think, what else you'd like to see, and until next time! See ya guys later!**_


	34. A Royal Meet Up

Weiss prided herself on her ability to read people. And by that she means call people out exactly as they are. Or at least, how her mind perceives them.

Ruby: Blissfully ignorant, naive and overall immature, but has a good heart and an unflinching belief of right and wrong.

Blake: Very untrusting, but rightfully so, though her inability to trust new people can get frustrating at times she has a stable cause she holds to.

Yang: A big sister in the best possible ways, but her own immaturity and rough and tumble mentality made her headache inducing.

But if there was one person Weiss was unable to read, it was Yu Narukami. For somebody who prided himself on trusting bonds and working with other people, he himself never really gave away much about himself. He could go from a stoic, mature and responsible individual one minute, to confusingly dense, trolling, and borderline oblivious the next.

It gave Weiss the sense that Yu had more layers than she would have thought. But simultaneously most of his reactions or interactions gave her the impression that he could just be a complete and total idiot that just happened to put on a good image of being more aware of things than he let on. Either way, he was an individual that Weiss had learned to respect for numerous reasons, and wanted to learn more about. So when Yu called Weiss one day to come and see Inaba, she happily agreed.

It gave her a good excuse to work on a report she had planned for her finals before Winter break. With that done and dusted, she'd be able to enjoy her time during the holiday season without bother.

(Plus with Ruby and Yang caught in their Dragon Ball Super binge playing Super Saiyan God every fifteen minutes, it was a welcomed reprieve. Sorry Blake, you'll have to find your own way to make do.)

Weiss soon arrived in Inaba from the train station, finding Yu waiting patiently for her in his own casual attire, with the black zip-up jacket and gray sweatshirt, with white undershirt. He jumped slightly when he first saw her, namely because she was dressed in clothing that looked far different from her standard clothes. She was now dressed in a royal blue button up shirt, with a white jacket that reached her knees, black pants that reached up to her belly button, and a pair of matching heeled, leather boots.

"What?" she asked, catching onto Yu's stunned silence.

"Apologies," Yu replied. "I was just surprised. You're not dressed like a ballerina today."

"Ballerina?" Weiss asked indignantly. "What's that supposed to mean? Are you telling me I typically look like a ballerina?"

"Do you want me to answer that?" Yu asked, causing Weiss to ground her teeth in frustration.

"Well if you must know," Weiss replied, "I thought that it'd be best that I dress how people in your world tend to dress. I've done my research and know your people tend to dress a little more, shall we say, 'restrained' than people on Remnant look. So I just decided since I was going out alone with you today, I might as well not draw as much attention to myself as we tend to do when we're in our... groups. But if it's such a surprise, I might as well change back."

"That's not what I meant," Yu replied. "You look great no matter what you wear. Plus, I like this look on you."

Weiss felt her cheeks heat up, if only briefly. "Thank you," she replied. "So, shall we go? I want to see everything that I can for my report."

"Certainly," Yu replied, holding out an arm for her. Weiss was befuddled for a second, until she realized that he was holding out his arm for her to hook with his own. She felt her face redden again, a bit flustered over the gesture.

"What's wrong?" Yu asked.

"N-nothing," Weiss replied. "It's just... a little formal don't you think?"

"Not so much," Yu replied. "I just figured since we're going out like this, it would only be polite. But if you want, we can just walk normal."

"N-nonsense," Weiss said, grabbing his arm. "You already bothered to do this much, so I might as well."

Weiss was half-expecting some snide comment from Yu as another stab, but he was silent the moment after. Apparently, the conversation was done. The two walked for only a minute, however, before they caught a taxi to take them to the town itself.

Weiss merely jotted down in a notepad for a second, before Yu poked her arm and gestured out the window to a gas station they passed by. "You see that?" he said. "That's where I first encountered Izanami. She was the being that was responsible for every incident that I had after, and also gave me the power to use my Persona."

"Fascinating," Weiss said, jotting down these notes.

Yu wasn't very vocal on the rest of the matter revolving around this 'Izanami' creature, as they finished their drive towards Inaba. From there, Yu pulled Weiss along as they walked through town.

Inaba was certainly... exotic, compared to the places Weiss was used to seeing in Remnant or Ragna's world. Even the cities like Kanzakai or the sights she witnessed in Japan on her visits to Gessen or Hanzo were much more advanced when compared to Inaba. Yosuke certainly wasn't kidding when he referred to Inaba as "out of the way," Weiss had to give him that much credit.

The town was so small Weiss felt like she had seen pretty much the whole thing merely on the drive over. To make matters worse, it had begun to rain, which Weiss had anticipated upon checking the weather earlier that day. Which, what she'd heard from the Investigation Team, was pretty average.

But for some reason, Yu was pretty energized upon getting out of the taxi, pulling Weiss by her hand into the town, which only caused the heiress even more flusterings. Though, she supposed it made sense given his strong connection to the place despite physical appearance alone.

"Come on," he said, "I know a great spot we can go to first. That is, if you're hungry."

"I-I mean, sure," Weiss replied. "I haven't eaten too much today."

"Great," Yu replied. "Come with me."

He lead her by the hand, Weiss keeping pace beside him. She felt greatly self-conscious about this, despite her remarks to be polite to Yu's attempts at being a gentleman. The two passed by a number of individuals on their way to where Yu was indicating, and to all of them, they would look like a couple. To which, Weiss was strongly indignant.

She was a proud Huntress (albeit in training) and an heiress. She was certain that she would never need a male companion in her life. True, she flirted with Neptune and found him attractive, but even she could see it as just a crush. An attraction on nothing more than the physical level.

She wasn't one to just throw herself into a relationship. She wanted to be seen as independently powerful and not somebody's second half.

The two eventually arrived at a small restaurant in the middle of tow, Yu charging his way inside without a second's consideration! "Aika!" Yu declared upon entering the shop. "We require sustenance"!

"Wait!" Weiss said. "Yu Narukami! What in the name of Dust do you think you're-!?"

"Oh, hey Narukami," the waittress said calmly. "Been awhile." Her casual greeting was enough to elicit a confused "huh?" from Weiss.

"So," the waittress said, "you found another one, eh?"

"If by that you mean friend," Yu replied, "then yes. This is Weiss Schnee. Weiss, meet Aika-chan. She is a friend of mine from Yasogami, whose family owns this diner."

"O-oh," Weiss said. "That explains a lot. N-nice to meet you miss."

"Nice to meet you as well, Weiss-chan," Aia replied. "Well, if you two want, you can sit anywhere you like. We're not busy today."

"Sure thing," Yu said, pulling up a chair at the bar counter, with Weiss sitting patiently beside him. Weiss picked up a menu and began pilfering through, with Yu merely watching her go. Apparently he already knew what he was getting, which only made Weiss feel impatient to make a choice since he was waiting on her account.

"Is there anything here that isn't swimming in grease-?" Weiss asked, but upon realizing what she said she clamped a hand over her mouth. She checked for Aika, who was working in the back. "I-I am so sorry," Weiss voiced to nobody in particular, "that was incredibly rude of me."

"Got a patricular taste, don't you Weiss?" Yu asked.

"D-don't make me sound spoiled!" Weiss replied. "In fact, you know what, I'll just get what you're having."

"Really?" Yu asked. "Are you sure about that?"

"Trust me," Weiss replied. "Anything that's good for you, is fine by me."

"Suit yourself," Yu replied. Aika came out of the back that moment, Yu merely giving her a determined nod. Aika reciprocated, and ran into the back. Weiss heard a bizarre number of clanks and hissing from the back, before Aika appeared back out with two massive bowls in hand which she set down in front of both customers! (In a manner that felt very deja vu inducing in Weiss for reasons she couldn't recall.)

Weiss felt her eye twitching in confusion at the sight that lay before her. It was a metric ton of noodles, with a thick, layer of beef sauce, with a fried egg topping the dish. The thing looked like it weighed as much as a bowling ball, and was certainly unlike anything that Weiss would normally desire, let alone subject herself too.

"What in the name of Remnant is that?" she asked.

"That," Yu replied, "is the Aiya Rainy Day Challenge."

He confidently clapped his hands together in a prayer gesture, head lowered and eyes shut, before he went in! Weiss on the other hand was just curious over what in the world she was supposed to do with this thing. But a cursory glance up at Aika, who was looking at her with a cocky grin, prompted Weiss to just throw caution to the win and go for it!

Several minutes later, however, the petite sized heiress felt strong amounts of regret flowing in her veins as her head lay on the counter in defeat. As she presumed, her stomach felt like it was seated with that bowling ball weight uncomfortably nestled inside, causing her to groan in actual pain. And she had barely even made a sizable dent in the "food" that was sitting in front of her.

Yu on the other hand looked mighty contented. While he had eaten more than Weiss, he still had a hearty portion left in his bowl too. He calmly lay his chopsticks next to his bowl, putting up his hands again as he thanked Aia for the meal.

"I would be happy if you would wrap my bowl up for me," he said, Aia giving him a "peace" gesture in response.

"Would Weiss-chan like hers to-go, too?" Aika asked.

"Not this side of the Abyss," Weiss replied in a half-dead gasp.

"Wrap hers up for me too," Yu replied, Aika delivering another peace sign. They wisely left the food to be picked up later, as Yu acted as Weiss's crutch as she was almost carried out of the shop.

"So you mind telling me," Weiss asked, "why you would subject me to a fate that makes me feel like my stomach is about to pop like a balloon?"

"That's a place my team and I frequented," Yu said. "We would go there often to discuss cases related to our investigation. It's a favorite hangout spot for everyone from Yasogami. Plus, Aika is a great host."

"Yeah," Weiss replied. "Looking back on it, she was very polite and courteous. I wish I could've left her a tip."

"We can do that when I go back for the food," Yu replied. "Do you feel like you can walk?"

Weiss scoffed as she took a few paces away from Yu and flipped her ponytail. "I can manage just fine on my own," she said. "Wherever you go, I go."

"If you say so," Yu replied, gesturing for her to follow. Even as he did, however, he grabbed her hand again.

Weiss was close to recoiling and yanking her hand away. But for some reason found herself unable to. She genuinely deemed it as rude in her head and merely just let him be as he would. The two walked down the Central Shopping District, passing by the number of shops that Yu pointed out to Weiss that he went to number of times to help out or purchase items for his investigation. He even stopped by a nearby alleyway to point out something else of interest.

"This is where I entered the Velvet Room in the daytime," Yu said. "The entryway doesn't appear to be open now, but if Elizabeth or Marie are anything to go off of, I'd think it's still around from time to time."

Weiss jotted this down eagerly on her notepad. She was making note of everything that Yu told her, but this one really stuck out. Later on down the road, they passed by the Amagi Inn.

"So this is Yukiko's family inn, eh?" Weiss observed, making a note of it in her notepad. She scowled slightly as she recalled how Yukiko had gotten kidnapped.

"It must've been awful for her," Weiss said. "Being trapped in that TV World."

"But you see she's doing fine," Yu replied. "And according to her, it felt almost like a dream. Same thing goes for Kanji, Naoto, and Rise."

"I suppose," Weiss replied. "Still can't help but feel bad."

"Of course," Yu replied. "You're sympathizing. But you know how strong they are now that they've come past it."

"Right," Weiss said proudly. The matter was dropped for a moment, until they passed by the area leading up to Yasogami High. "So this is," Weiss began, "or rather, was your school?"

"Yes," Yu replied. He looked around curiously for a moment, before looking up at the telephone pole. "And that's where one of the victims was found."

Weiss looked up in the direction that Weiss indicated. "Really?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah," Yu said, appearing with a rather firm expression on his face. One that had a deep pondering, recollecting the past experiences he had. "Yosuke's senpai, Saki Konishi. The two had been close, at least Yosuke thought so. And he became really hurt when he heard she was dead."

Weiss looked back and forth between Yu and the pole again. She gained a saddened expression as she heard this brought to her. She recalled something about Yosuke having a connection with one of the victims, but she never considered how he actually felt about it.

Yosuke frustrated Weiss so much that it became impossible for her to ever consider his feelings on many things. She never considered how he thought or cared about things, totally failing to be the better person she hoped to be in relation to him. The two just had such a tendancy to bounce off of each other from their different lifestyles Weiss was just incapable of thinking from his perspective.

Yu seemed to notice Weiss's expression and how her writing had slowed significantly on her notepad, reaching out to her for a moment. Weiss jumped slightly as she felt his hand, looking at him in surprise. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"O-oh, yeah," Weiss replied. "It's just... Yosuke and I don't get along, you know that. We just get on each others' nerves so much because of our differing lifestyles, so I find it hard to ever take his opinions seriously. But hearing what you said about his... 'senpai' being killed and how it affected him, I think it might be better... better to take his thoughts more seriously."

Yu smiled warmly. He didn't really give his input, whether or not he thought her idea was right or wrong. He merely just let her figure her feelings out for herself, which Weiss appreciated.

"Come on," he said, taking her by the hand again.

"Wait," Weiss said, realizing they were walking away from the school. "We're not going into the high school?"

"I don't think we can get in," Yu said. "Besides, I don't really need to go there again. Let me show you a favorite spot of mine instead."

Walking off the side of the road, Yu lead her down into what appeared to be a riverbank. He described it as the Samegawa Flood Plain, which ran along the path towards Yasogami practically through the entirety of Inaba, according to Yu's report.

"This is, and was, one of my favorite places in Inaba," Yu said.

"Oh yeah," Weiss said, spinning in a circle to look around. "Why is that?"

To her surprise she heard a 'thunk!' right beside her, before turning to see Yu pulling out a fishing line from a pack that he just... had. "D-did...?" Weiss said. "Did you always have that on you?"

"I did," Yu replied. "And now you'll see my true power!"

He let the line loose, and tossed it into the river! Weiss was baffled for a moment, before recalling what Yosuke and Hyde had said about Yu being an avid fisher. But was he seriously doing that now? Here?

"Yu," Weiss said, "you can't honestly be thinking of-?"

Yu suddenly yanked the line out of the water, and pulled a decently sized fish along with it! Weiss gaped at the sight, as Yu merely turned to her with a happy smile on his face. Not an arrogant grin or anything like that, but genuine pride.

"I stand corrected," Weiss observed.

Yu put the fish back in the river, before packing his things up.

"So," Weiss said, "what did that have to do with helping my report?"

"Nothing really," Yu replied. "But I guess you could mention that this is where I had some good moments of bonding with the others."

Weiss looked at him curiously, egging him to elaborate. Yu pointed to the exact spot they were standing. "Right here," he said, "I had a good few talks with Kanji. And over there some," he gestured in the direction up the bank, "was where I had a good talk with Yosuke. Well, talk, as in we beat the tar out of each other."

"What?" Weiss asked.

"It was a bonding moment," Yu said. "And just up that way," he said, pointing up the road some, "is where Chie would often call me out to train."

"I see," Weiss replied. "So this whole spot is connected."

"That it is," Yu said, grabbing Weiss's hand again and pulling her along again.

They walked back along, Yu telling Weiss stories about his time at Yasogami High School as they made their place into the housing district. He did cut his stories off, however, as they reached a not particularly interesting home in the middle of town. There was nothing to help it stick out compared to the rest, it was just there.

"Narukami?" Weiss asked. "Why are we here?"

"Well," Yu replied, walking up to the door, "I figured if we're here, we might as well see my family."

"Huh?" Weiss asked. She wanted to argue. Like, really argue!

She did not plan on meeting Yu's family so soon, like this! In such a spontaneous manner! She figured it wasn't that odd to believe, but she hadn't mentally prepared for it in all her wanderings around town!

Yu knocked on the door, despite Weiss's internal flusterings, as a small child opened it in response. "Big bro!" Nanako cheered in delight, hugging Yu around the waist, with Yu patting her head affectionately.

"Hey there Nanako," he greeted warmly. "How've things been?"

"They've been great!" Nanako said. "Just yesterday, daddy took me to see this new movie! And then we went looking at Christmas trees. We can't get a big one, since our house isn't that big, but we were looking hard!"

"That's great to hear," Yu said.

Nanako took a step back, seeing Weiss standing behind Yu. Weiss gave her a smile, touched by her childish nature, with Nanako awestruck by Weiss's appearance. Weiss was confused by her startled look, before Nanako tugged Yu to kneel down so he could listen to her.

"Big bro," she said, just loud enough so Weiss could hear, "is that a princess?"

Weiss felt her face turn radiant the next moment as Yu gave a good natured giggle. "In a manner of speaking," he replied.

"Yu Narukami!" Weiss said sternly. She rolled her eyes, before kneeling down and holding a hand out to Nanako. "I'm Weiss Schnee," she greeted. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Nanako. Yu has told me a lot about you."

"Oh! You're Weiss!" Nanako said, happily shaking her hand. "Big bro has told me a lot about you! You sound really funny!"

Weiss felt a crack inside of her. _Funny?_ she thought. _I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or an insult._

"Shall we?" Yu said, gesturing for Weiss to go inside. The inside of the home of Dojima was rather homey and contented. Far more relaxed than things like the Schnee's extravagant mansion or the chaotic construction of Team RWBY's dorm room.

"Dad shouldn't be too late," Nanako said. "He said ten at the latest."

"Not too late?" Weiss asked. "You should be well in bed by that point. It's a school night, isn't it?"

Nanako shook her head. "We're on winter break now," she said.

"Oh," Weiss blinked.

"Even still," Yu said, "you should get some rest by then. We'll greet Uncle when he gets back."

"Okay," Nanako relented. "But until then, tell me about what you've been doing, Big Bro!"

Yu chuckled as he sat down with Nanako around the living room table, Weiss watching him talk as she sat on the sofa. The manner that Yu interacted with Nanako was quite like the relationship between a big brother and a little sister, which is what everyone had told Weiss about in regards to the two. It was enough to put a large smile on her face as she watched them go.

Every now and again, Weiss would point out an "inconsistency" in regards to some of the circumstances that had happened back between the group. For example:

Yu: "So Ruby-chan had this great idea to use her cape as a paraglider off the top of the Junes mall."

Weiss: "Brilliant? More like boneheaded! She's just lucky she didn't get a concussion or crack her skull!"

Yu: "Well how about that time when Yang and Heart decided to do-?"

Weiss: "Equally dumb! Don't even finish that!"

It was enough to make Nanako laugh. "You're both so funny!" she said.

Weiss felt her face flush again. "I-I don't know if I'd call myself 'funny'," she said.

"It's alright Weiss-chan," Yu said. "You're hysterical."

Weiss gave him a skeptical look. "Now I know that was an insult," she said. Once more, Nanako laughed.

Eventually, Yu got Nanako to go to bed, tucking her in and wishingher good night. That left Yu and Weiss alone until Dojima himself got back home, which Weiss felt somewhat uncomfortable about. The idea of being alone in somebody else's home made her feel a bit uneasy, yet Yu continued to go along with his typical easy-going attitude.

"Come on," Yu said, "since she's in bed, I can show you to your room, Weiss."

Weiss was startled. "My room?" she said. "You didn't tell me you had a room for me here."

"I though it was obvious," Yu replied, looking stunned himself.

"Yu, you don't have to do that," Weiss said. "I have the money. I can just get a room at the Inn. It's no trouble."

"Nonsense," Yu said. "It's even less trouble for me to offer you a room here."

Weiss took a breath. If there was one thing she knew about Yu for sure, it's that he took no as an answer even less times than Weiss did. When he got cemented in something, it was nigh impossible for him to ever relent or compromise. A prime example was when he "convinced" the girls to compete in that Beauty Pageant that Yosuke had ingeniously come up with.

"I suppose," she said. "Again, if you went through the trouble, then I might as well."

"I just said it wasn't trouble," Yu replied, causing Weiss to blush in defeat.

"Just show me," she said. Yu merely smiled as he gestured for the guest room.

It was rather simple, with a simple fouton up against the wall beneath the main window, with a small television set up against the opposite wall on top of a dresser to the side of the door. "I can deal with this," she said.

"Glad to hear it's to your standards," Yu said.

Weiss bit her tongue. While she would normally reprimand Yu for his snide comments, she couldn't deny that it was partially her fault for continuing to accidentally bring up her nobility.

"Seriously," she said, "I do appreciate this Yu. You are very kind."

"Glad to know you think so," Yu replied. He blinked a few times as he saw Weiss visibly deflate. Outright dramatically.

"Weiss," he said, "are you okay? You suddenly look tired."

"I'm fine," Weiss said, brushing him off. "Just... you know how it is. Finals. Work. I've just been very busy lately and I suppose the relaxation of today has finally gotten the best of me."

Yu walked over and gently nudged her to sit on the fouton. "Here," he said, "just relax. You should get some sleep too."

"No, none of that," Weiss said, waving a hand. "I need to greet Dojima. It would be rude of me to not even say 'hello' to my actual host upon him returning home when I'm staying in his home."

She took a sharp intake of breath when Yu reached around and unclipped her tiara shaped hairpin, allowing her hair to drop like a lead weight. "Hey!" she said, swiping her pin back. "Who gave you the right to do that?"

"Well you can't very well sleep with that in," he said.

"I already told you," Weiss said firmly.

"And I'm telling you," Yu said, "that it's no trouble. You deserve a moment to well and truly rest. It's alright. Truly."

Weiss still looked uncomfortable with the idea, but reminded herself on how Yu didn't really give up on anything. "Fine," she said. "If it'll get you to stop. Then I will get some sleep."

"Good to hear," Yu said.

Weiss was still silent for a moment, before she finally managed to make herself meet Yu's eyes.

"Narukami," she said, "why are you so polite to me? I mean, I guess at your core you're polite with everybody, it's not like I'm saying you're not. But I just noticed... you seem to act differently around me,"

"Really?" Yu asked. "I honestly never realized it. But I suppose if I had to think about it, I would say it's because I respect you. Mostly from everything you've done."

"You have such a weight on your shoulders and you've worked through every possible channel to make the most of yourself. So I guess it's just an admiration for your effort."

To Weiss's surprise, Yu reached out and gently brushed a finger over her scar. She almost never let anyone touch her scar, and got defensive whenever anybody so much as brought it up. Nobody tended to bring it up because, it was rather obvious it would be something she'd be defensive over.

But for some reason it felt different with him. It was like she didn't mind him feeling it.

"I'm sorry," he said.

That definitely threw Weiss for a loop. It was as if he sensed every bit of struggle and pain she had felt from her family in that one moment and could only offer his deepest condolensces. It was almost as if he had looked into her mind.

It downright made Weiss envious. The fact that he could seem to just see right through her like she were made of glass, when she could barely understand what his actual personality was like. But for its worth, she could definitely see by looking into his eyes that he was, at this moment, so genuinely kind and empathetic.

"Feel free to lay down if you like," Yu said. "You can use my lap as a pillow, if you want. I'm not going anywhere."

Weiss felt her face redden again, snapped from what felt like a daze. "I don't think I should," she said.

"No, really," Yu said. "I don't mind. You deserve rest."

Weiss let Yu nudge her over, allowing her to rest with her head against his lap, comfortingly petting her head. Weiss didn't know why she would let him do this. She never let anyone act such a way around her. But for some reason with him she just... let go.

* * *

Yu later, after Weiss had fallen asleep and was allowed to rest for a significant time, he found himself in the kitchen while she continued to sleep, making himself some hot chocolate. He was happy to help Weiss have a good day and get a good amount of information for her report. Truth be told, he didn't really think of actually looking specifically at information regarding the investigation itself. He really just wanted to show her a good time in Inaba, highlighting his many favorite places.

But more than that, he was happy to have Weiss have a relaxing day around the country town. A time in a place that he had grown to love so much.

As he considered this, he couldn't help but recall what Weiss had said before. About him acting differently around her. It truly was something he never considered.

Yu didn't really think it over, but he did tend to bust with most of the people he knew. Even the girls on his team could get messed with every now and again. But with Weiss, well, he didn't really think it over.

The thing was, Yu loved everyone equally. He didn't really put up any limitations with people. He always put other people first no matter the situation, and never really considered what he wanted.

So the idea that he might be treating somebody differently, was enough to make him ponder. Ponder about his relationships and who he was. "I act differently around her," he echoed. "Huh. Well how about that."

* * *

_**A/N: And so we have this one! Now I would like to apologize for taking long with this one, AGAIN. However, I figured I was ready for a bit of a break again after writing what is EASILY one of my best chapters in a long while if what your reactions tell me. However, getting a response asking me when the next chapter was going to come up was my kick to finish what I had here and get it posted.**_

_**So just to start out I will say first and foremost that I will officially try to write these more so that way people won't have to wait so long to get more. Your patience is and always will be appreciated, and henceforth, I figure it's only fair and respectful to you all to get you more chapters as soon as I can get them out. And beyond that, get them out faster.**_

_**I will say I have plans to obviously do some Christmas related chapters, I'm just about done with what could end up being either the first one or the only one, and will get that posted well before the 24th so you can rest assured on that one. And I've been looking over recent suggestions and will definitely do a new chapter based on one of those ideas, probably after Christmastime. So I would just like to say again, thank you for your patience and consideration, it truly does mean the world to me.**_

_**That being said, how the heck have I not done a chapter related to Weiss and Yu as of yet!? Seriously, that's quickly become one of the biggest ship pairings that I have brought up, going up there with RubyXHyde and YosukeXMakoto! So how have I forgotten that!?**_

_**So, yes, I decided that it'd only be right that I put some focus on that. I liked playing around the idea that Weiss doesn't understand Yu as a person the way she typically does, considering that Yu is such a bizarre character when he's able to expertly play around both maturity and immaturity to such a degree, it's only fair for her to look at him in confusion and yet simultaneously want to try to understand him.**_

_**It was pretty easy to work around this chapter, just by having Yu show Weiss around Inaba and see his world. Could I have stretched it out and put a bit more emotion into it? Of course I could have. But frankly, I was more concerned with getting what I had out to you guys. And in the end, I do like what I gave.**_

_**I liked the emotions I had between Weiss and Yu. I liked their interactions and the way they connected. And ultimately, that's all I wanted to do. Just dedicate a chapter between these two.**_

_**On that note, Review Time!**_

_**To SolarS: Yeah. I've thought about redoing the cook-off in the past, but I had the sneaking suspicion if I tried that, bodies would drop!**_

_**To Trinity Sparks: Thanks for understanding. I was really nervous how my response would be taken, and I'm glad to hear back. And I can definitely try out your other suggestion in the future!**_

_**To Naoto Redgrave: Yes. A person of culture as well, I see ;)**_

_**To mikkeljerome13: Honestly, there are certainly more scenes from Persona 4 I find funny. The camping time, where Mystery Food X was first introduced. The ski trip. Trouble comes from recalling more of them, since I've been needing to go back into Persona 4. But I can certainly find more I'm sure of it.**_

_**To BooDawg: I am aware that Rachel loves Ragna, to a degree at least. But I'm unsure if Ragna reciprocates, as everything I've seen implies otherwise. (Plus, while Rachel is technically immortal from what I understand she physically looks, like, twelve so that's kinda etchy.) But again, I could totally be wrong.**_

_**And to the guest that pointed out I forgot Jaune at the end of the drag contest... Yes. Yes I did. Truth be told, I was struggling to try integrating him in that entire time until my mind just gave up I guess. I will probably go back and redo that part to include him, but yeah, I am sorry I dropped the ball on that one! XD**_

_**And thanks as always to all the suggestions! Be sure to let me know what you think, and until next time (which should be soon) I'll see you all later!**_


	35. Cross Tag Christmas Collision

_Group A:_

Yukari Takeba was a girl that longed for independence. Thanks to her mother's relationships with men, Yukari wanted nothing more than to be nothing like that and find her own way in life. And for the most part, she'd been holding to that, living now as a college student and model with a stable television role on the most recent Neo Featherman series, thanks to her archery talent. But of course, she was still a trusted ally of the Shadow Operatives.

For these reasons, Yukari found herself getting attached to the numerous individuals that were met in the other worlds that Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Aigis had first approached. It was quite an odd circumstance to say the least, but Yukari had found quite a number of good friends from these individuals. She had even found herself in a comfortable big sister role for many of the girls she met, thanks to her experience and firm head on her shoulders.

That being said, with the Christmas holiday fast approaching, Yukari did not hesitate in the slightest to help find gifts for all these "kids." Alongside her were the rest of the Operatives, plus Makoto, Mai, Tsubaki, and Noel from the NOL. Normally, the three of them would have been with the other girls closer to their age, but had claimed to be looking more for "professional input" in their searches. To an opposite degree, Labrys had ran off to the others to get a more social approach instead.

"So..." Yukari said, "we just about got everything for the Investigation Team. They were among the easiest to find gifts for, and Team RWBY shouldn't be much trouble either. Hyde will be pretty tough to find a gift for, on the other hand."

"Why do you say that?" Makoto asked, casually walking beside her with her arms reclined behind her head.

"While he does have interests," Yukari replied, "he doesn't really want many things. He claims he doesn't _need _things."

"He's far too humble," Mitsuru observed, "even for his own good."

"Yeah, so he'll be tough," Yukari observed.

Nearby, Noel giggled. This caught Junpei's attention, as he adjusted the bags he'd been "convinced" to carry over his shoulder in order to look at her. "What's up?" he asked.

"Oh nothing," Noel replied. "It's just... Yukari really is like a really thoughtful big sister."

"Yeah," Junpei said. "She may be rough around the edges at times, but more often than not she's very considerate and positive."

"So why doesn't she like you that much?" Noel asked bluntly, causing Junpei to keel over like he got slugged on the back of the head!

"Because Junpei has, as would be said, a 'one track mind'," Aigis replied monotonously.

"And like always, everyone's against me," Junpei said meekly.

Akihiko merely chuckled as the group continued walking along. They were now hunting for gifts for Team RWBY, headed towards shops they felt would fit the four the best, different ones from each person on top of that. Yukari and Mitsuru were naturally the most considerate given their "big sister" status for the younger women, with the NOL girls offering their say from their numerous times they hung out with the Huntresses. Aigis and Junpei had some... unique suggestions, for different reasons, which were predominantly ignored much to their disappointment. Akihiko didn't say much, but did voice his own input mostly where Yang was concerned, since he spent a lot of time training with her.

Ruby was one of the most... spontaneous for gifts to get selected, considering she was a major pop-culture dork, moreso than Yang, in addition to her outright "knightly" outlook on life with stuff like "justice" or "chivalry" being highly romanticized in her head. As such, Yukari thought that finding her a gift unique to their world and not Remnant would work out well. So Yukari went over to a movie section, spotting a movie she knew Ruby would love!

She grabbed for the movie, which was based on Arthurian legend, with King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and all that jazz. As she went for it, a different hand reached for it as well, causing Yukari to recoil in surprise. She looked over, recognizing the man standing next to her from descriptors alone.

It was Qrow Branwen, Ruby and Yang's uncle. The aged, drunken Huntsman who had a penchant for vanishing without a trace for months on end. For good reason, mind you.

"Oh, sorry," Qrow said, with the typical slur in his tone.

"Oh, it's nothing," Yukari said. "I'm guessing we both had the same idea for a gift, eh?"

Qrow narrowed his eyes as he looked at Yukari. "Do I know you?" he asked.

"You might," Yukari said. "I'm friends with your nieces. Yukari Takeba. Nice to meet you."

"Oh..." Qrow said slowly. "I getcha. Nice to meet ya too. Guessin' you were gonna get that movie for Ruby?"

"Yes sir," Yukari replied. "I thought it'd make the perfect gift for her."

"Well I'll let you grab it then," Qrow replied.

"Are you sure?" Yukari asked. "I mean, you're family, so you win out."

"Ah, it's nothin'," Qrow replied. "I can always find somethin' else. I already got a few other ideas in mind. You go on ahead."

His eyes went over Yukari's shoulder, catching Mitsuru looking at him from close by. Qrow smirked at her gaze, before walking away. Yukari looked back at Mitsuru as the Queen approached.

"You see?" Yukari asked.

"Yes," Mitsuru replied. "He's quite like Ragna. Except older. And even more gruff and unkempt."

"He looked kinda sad to me," Yukari said.

"Quite," Mitsuru said. "If half of what I've heard about him is true, he has gone through quite a lot. Yang and Ruby may be the only things he has left that gives him real hope."

Yukari nodded solemnly. Sad as it is, she knew a number of people not unlike that. And she could only add him to the list of people she knew who she wished to have only happiness and peace.

She heard from Mitsuru and Akihiko about how much Ragna reminded them of Shinjiro, and Qrow was very much the same. Even moreso in some ways, where they live cursed, without real hope for their own personal future.

Yukari shook her head as she recalled these memories. It was the Holiday season fast approaching, so she had to be celebrating. Remembering the good in life, and putting the bad aside.

As Yukari considered this, and the Operatives finished getting their gifts for Ruby, the NOL girls had ran off elsewhere, all of them debating on what they should get for Blake.

"How could you suggest something so... lewd!?" Tsubaki demanded.

"Uh, have you seen Blake's collection?" Makoto asked. "She's a real smut fan."

"But a gift should be more flattering than... _that_," Tsubaki replied.

"I may be inclined to agree," Noel said. "I mean, I'm sure Blake wouldn't like to get a smut book as a gift. Especially when she'll have an audience to watch as we're opening presents."

"Eh, you're probably right," Makoto said.

"Which is why my idea of fine china, is much better," Tsubaki said.

"Are you nuts!?" Mai demanded. "With how much destruction they bring, that'd get broken within the day!"

"That's a good point," Noel said. "Plus, with how high strung Blake is around that dog they have, it'd probably happen by her own hands."

"How about this?" a new voice asked. Noel looked to the side and saw a guidebook from one of Blake's favorite fantasy novels held in front of her face.

"Oh! I think Blake actually said she wanted this!" Noel said.

"Thanks... you..." Mai added, getting rather startled by the... person the quartet saw in front of them. She was singlehandedly the _BIGGEST _woman they had ever seen, with a positive mane of wild black hair behind her head where a visor was somehow able to sit comfortably, with nothing more than tape wrappings around her chest, revealing the six pack that looked hard enough to break stone on her stomach, with a messy trenchcoat that looked like it could be related to Akihiko's, and messy, baggy pants!

The girls were so stunned by the size of this woman. The aura she gave off looked like a hungry wolf, and the girls were all stunned silent. The woman was not insulted, however, as she gave off a deep chuckle.

"Nice to meet you all," she said. "Asuka-chan and the other students from Hanzo told me about how funny you were. I'm Daidouji. Their upper-classman and would-be graduate."

"O-oh..." Tsubaki squeaked. "W-well... n-nice to meet you."

"Goddammit you're ginormous," Makoto said bluntly.

"Makoto Nanaya!" Noel and Mai said, slapping their hands over the demi-human's mouth!

Daidouji just laughed again. "It's no trouble," she said. "I know I'm a great deal... bigger than the average woman my age. But I took my training seriously. Be that as it may," she added, turning around, "I'll see you all around."

"O-okay," Noel said, before coming to a realization. "Wait a minute! How did you know what to get Blake? Have you ever met her?"

"Only in passing," Daidouji replied. "I'm a ninja. So I happen to keep my eyes peeled for certain intervals. Particularly to spy on you all."

"Huh?" the girls asked, as Daidouji simply continued walking away.

As Daidouji continued walking, she soon fell into step beside Qrow while he walked in the same direction, the two walking alongside each other. "So," the shinobi said, "how have you been?"

"Same old," Qrow replied.

"Found the right gifts yet?" Daidouji asked.

"Eh, just about," Qrow replied.

"So we can get back to work?" Daidouji asked.

"We've done enough for one night," Qrow said. "I want a drink now."

"Sure you can do it without getting punched in the face this time?" Daidouji asked.

"It's not my fault," Qrow replied. "It's just people I tend to meet happen to be awful trash."

"Then maybe you shouldn't go to every bar you find," Daidouji said.

"What're you, my mother?" Qrow asked.

"I am your handler," Daidouji replied, "so it counts."

"Whoever said you're my handler?" Qrow asked. "You're, what, ten years younger than I am?"

"That remains to be seen," Daidouji replied.

Qrow rolled his eyes. How he ended up being saddled with this girl as his partner, was something he would never understand. Not helped now, as she reached out to grab his hand in an almost flirtatious manner, only for Qrow to smack it away. She gave a laugh, and Qrow couldn't help but join in turn.

* * *

_Group B:_

It wasn't just the adults, and then some, who were hunting for gifts. The boys and girls from their normal group had split up to find gifts for each other in their respective groups. Everyone had seemed to go on their own path, with a few numbers working with one another.

Team RWBY had naturally teamed up with Asuka, Heart, Labrys, Weiß, Yumi, Katsu, Saki, and Yozakura. The girls of the Investigation Team plus Labrys had ran off to find gifts for their own team, that left the other girls on their path. Ruby was naturally bouncing around with ideas, her counterparts Heart and Asuka listening intently to her as she rambled on. Yang and Katsu would throw in their say every now and again, but majoridly it was left to those three.

The girls were naturally letting those with more energy be the driving force for the time, as they scrambled to find gifts for different individuals. Naturally, each of them had their individuals they wanted to find gifts for above any other.

Weiss wanted nothing more than to find a good gift for Yu. The Kingpin of Steel was somebody that Weiss had felt increasing intrigue out of, particularly increased since he had invited her to Inaba, where they had acted so intimate it still left Weiss feeling red in the face just from remembering it.

So in honor of the winter holiday, Weiss wanted to find a good gift for him. But the struggle came in from the fact that Yu, being such an enigma, made finding the right gift quite the mystery wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a question. Hence, Weiss was practically glued to her scroll in a vain attempt to get any kind of idea from his teammates, even Yosuke.

SnowEmpressSchnee: So... just so we're clear, nobody has a clue?

IronLegCarnivore: Sorry Weiss. I told you how he's never really "resonated" with anything I gave him, but he was still grateful all the same.

PrincessAmagi: Agreed. I think your best bet is just to give him something you like. He'll be appreciative, no matter what it is.

SnowEmpressSchnee: But I want this present to be important! It's my first real gift to him!

GentleGiant: Weiss-senpai, I think you're overreacting.

SnowEmpressSchnee: Don't tell me I'm overreacting, Kanji. Nobody tells me I overreact to anything.

DetectivePrince: I feel like that's a lie.

SnowEmpressSchnee: I mean nobody tells me I overreact and gets away with it!

DivaRisette: Weiss-chan, I feel like Yukiko-senpai and Chie-senpai are right. Just get him something you like!

DetectivePrince: I'm surprised you're helping Weiss-senpai, Rise.

DivaRisette: Well only because I know I'm in the clear. Narukami-senpai and I are inseperable.

SnowEmpressSchnee: I'm gonna pretend I didn't read that. Also, why do Naoto and Kanji call me "senpai" and not you, Rise Kujikawa?

DivaRisette: ...eh? (- -;)

SnowEmpressSchnee: I thought as much.

IronLegCarnivore: Yo, Yosuke. You've been quiet. Got nothin' to say?

JunesPrince: Well, I've been thinking.

IronLegCarnivore: That's rare.

JunesPrince: Choosing to ignore that. Get him something that shows your connection. He values friendships above anything else. This kinda fits with what Yukiko-san and the others were saying. So I figure that, if you're so wrapped up with getting him something important, go for something that shows your bond.

SnowEmpressSchnee: ...Wow. That...Actually makes a lot of sense. Thanks Yosuke.

JunesPrince: No problem Weiss-san. Good luck.

"Hey guys, I can do the thing!"

Weiss looked up from her scroll as she saw Heart attempting a Buster Wolf from the King of Fighters series right into an unfortunate Asuka's belly, causing the two to crumple to the ground in a heap! Weiss felt her eye twitch, as she looked back at her phone and replied to Yosuke with: "Thanks. I think I'll need it."

Blake had her fair share of issues as well. She still hadn't settled her feelings about Sun, but he showed himself a trusted confidant during the time she had accidentally revealed her identity as a Faunus to her teammates, plus he was devoted with the number of occasions he would just run up to her like in the school dance. But it was more than just Sun she was worried about.

She also wanted to get presents for all her teammates. They had become more than just a team and allies to her in the time she'd known them. They were all like sisters to her. People she could never imagine her life without now.

And then there was all the people she had met after the whole Phantom Field incident. People who had become dear friends to her. Makoto, Hyde, Mitsuru, Murakumo, Tsubaki, Orie, Ragna, Yumi, even Seth (to an extent).

Coming from such a rough upbringing, where people like Ilia and Adam had just up and betrayed everything she stood for, it was hard for her to move past that and find people to really love. Now that she cherishes so many other people now, people she knew would never betray her, she wanted to do something in this holiday to pay them back. But with such a lofty task on her shoulders, well, it gave her a great feeling of anxiety.

"Blake," Weiß said. "I get the sensation that you are putting a lot of pressure on yourself. Your skin has paled and you're perspiring. Do you need to sit and drink some water?"

"W-wha?" Blake replied, looking up at the Valkyria from her musings. "O-oh, no. It's nothing, Weiß. It's just... I am really exhausted. I have so many friends, people that have essentially become my family, so I want to give them something great. But I am having a really hard time figuring that out."

Weiß looked over at the shenanigans going on with Heart and the others, as guffawing Yang and Katsuragi picked her back up, while Ruby was fussing over the recovering Asuka, with Weiss, Yozakura, Saki, and Yumi, in their own ways, saying that "wasn't the best idea."

"I understand how you feel," Weiß said. "Being a Valkyria, I was not given what you would call a 'normal' life to live. Even after I was rescued from the Drexler Institute, I haven't lived 'normally'. Which is why I cherish so many moments like Heart teaching me to bake, or Scharlachrot trying to give me a 'day off'. Meeting you all gave me something precious."

"I suppose we can both relate in a way," Blake added. The two were silent in understanding for a moment, merely just letting their empathy flow. That is, until Blake came to a startling realization.

"Wait," she said. "Where exactly _is _Scharlachrot right now?"

"Oh," Weiß said. "She's being looked over. I couldn't have her following me while I look for a gift for her."

* * *

"This is so stupid!" Scharlachrot yelled.

"Calm down," Yuzuriha said, patting her on the shoulder. "Your sis is just looking for a gift for you. Just give her time."

"But I can't stand the idea of her being with those other guys when I'm not there!" Scharlachrot yelled.

"Nah-uh-uh," Yuzuriha said, patting Scharlachrot on the head. "Just relax there. There's no need to be worried."

"Get off me you bimbo!" Scharlachrot yelled.

"Is big sister gonna put baby in the corner?" Yuzuriha asked.

"I'd like to see you try!" Scharlachrot yelled.

"Taokaka!" Yuzuriha said.

"Nyan!" Taokaka declared, appearing from the ceiling to flatten Scharlachrot underneath her.

From across the room, Kokonoe was watching the exchange with a rather miffed expression. It boiled over until the point she couldn't contain it anymore and had to yell. "Why are you all in my lab?!"

* * *

"Are you sure that was the best idea?" Blake asked.

"I needed something to do," Weiß said, "and everyone else was busy. Yuzuriha assured me she would take care of her."

"Yuzu doesn't strike me as the type of person to trust with something like that," Blake said.

"She gave me no reason to believe she would lie," Weiß said.

"That's not exactly what I meant," Blake said.

All the same, Blake figured that it wasn't best to argue with Weiß. She only meant well, even if she didn't know any better. So there was no reason to make a big deal out of it when they were relating to one another.

Yang herself was being uncharacteristically mysterious to everyone else. While anyone could smell from a mile away that Weiss had infatuation with Yu and Blake was mutually interested in Sun, with Ruby and Hyde being a blatantly obvious reciprocated crush, Yang was making it obvious that she was pursuing a relationship a guy without actually saying who the guy was. It was enough to make everyone crazy considering how chatty Yang could normally be.

"So you're not gonna tell?" Katsu asked.

"Nope," Yang replied, doing the typical Rose-Xiao Long family 'p' pop.

"Not one bit?" Saki asked.

"Nope," Yang popped again.

"You know that this isn't like you," Yozakura."Typically it's hard to get you to... not, say anything."

"That's the idea," Yang joked.

"AAAAHHHHH! I CAN'T TAKE IT!"

Everyone jumped out of their skin as they saw Heart run over, jumping onto Yang's chest, holding herself up by grabbing Yang's shirt with her feet planted against the blonde's body, looking her dead in the eye! "You have to tell me!" she said. "I need to know about love! You can't not tell me about love!"

Yang snickered, picking Heart up by her scruff as if she were a dog and plopping her on the floor. "I wouldn't go that far," she said. "It's just a crush right now. I'm interested in the guy, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it love."

"But you're interested in a boy!" Heart said sadly. "I have to know!"

"Nope," Yang said again, patting Heart on the head as she walked past.

"Wow," Yozakura said. "That was... quite the sight."

"When it comes to romance," Saki said, "Heart is like an addict."

"Hehe," Katsu laughed.

And as for Ruby, that was a no-brainer. As mentioned before, she was looking for something for Hyde, nobody remotely surprised by that. The two had been getting closer still since Ruby's birthday on Halloween, so even if Ruby herself didn't even understand her own emotions, it was clear that Hyde was her top priority.

While Hyde wasn't as confusing as Yu was, as Yukari had mentioned before, Hyde was the type of person who didn't really _need _anything as he put it. He wasn't a very material person, thinking of many things that he would want for gifts. But that certainly wasn't going to stop the Rose Red of Team RWBY from trying to find something he could appreciate.

The one thing holding her back was, obviously, her companions. Trying her hardest to think of a gift was difficult when most of her friends were not very helpful. Or at least, acted very helpful.

Asuka, Yumi, and Saki were nice enough in terms of Ruby's endeavors, but were mostly being held back by the antics of those like Heart, Katsu, or even Ruby's own sister, Yang. Thus, Ruby was kept from any assistance in coming up with ideas or having the ideas she did think of be supported. So the Huntress-in-training was left alone to think of a plan.

She struggled to think of what Hyde enjoyed and did everything in her power to consider what he might appreciate no matter what. It was difficult, so she figured that she may save her gift for him for last in order to give her mind time to rest.

"Uh, Ruby?" Yumi asked, tapping her on the shoulder. "Are you alright? You suddenly got this really intense look on your face."

"Huh?" Ruby said curiously. "O-oh, yeah, Yumi. I'm just... still thinking of what to get Hyde."

Yumi gave a good natured giggle. "You really care about him, don't you?" she asked.

"Of course," Ruby replied, missing Yumi's subtle hint. "He's one of my best friends! I gotta find something that he'll like! Gah! Why does he have to be the vague one!?"

Yumi laughed again. She looked over her shoulder, spotting the others still animatedly interacting with each other. "Tell you what," she said, "how about we ditch them and go looking by ourselves?"

"Really?" Ruby asked.

"Yes," Yumi said. "Just long enough for us to find something for Hyde."

"Let me come with you!" Asuka said, running over to the others.

"Sure thing!" Ruby said. "Thanks!"

Telling the others they would be splitting paths for a minute, Ruby and the shinobi hurried over to a clothing store for a moment to look for something. Ruby listened to what Yumi and Asuka had told her about looking for something that would strike a cord and be remembered. And as shallow as it was, Ruby was going with red.

Hyde did incorporate red into his usual outfits, with a red button-up shirt in his casual wear being one of his favorite things. Plus, there was his EXS, Void Red. So the two at least had that in common, and when it comes to Ruby looking for something to wear with red, it was like a special ability.

Looking in the hoodies, she found one that stuck out to her. It was a zipper hoodie, with almost like a reverse flame pattern, starting at red in the top and dissolving into black as it moved further down toward the hem. She smiled as she saw it, holding it up and looking it over, even slipping it on just for good measure and was satisfied with the size.

"Hey Yumi!" she said. "How about thi-what the heck are you wearing!?"

She saw the shinobi looking happily in the mirror while wearing a headband with cat ears on them! To make matters worse, she even went "meow" while looking at herself in the mirror! "Cuteness is justice," she giggled.

"Okay~" Ruby said. "Hey Asuka, do you think this-what!?"

Turns out, Asuka was looking equally as bizarre as she was wearing a headband of her own with bunny ears on top! "Huh?" she said, looking curiously at Ruby.

Ruby just blinked, turning around and putting the hoodie on the hangar. "I think I'll just trust my gut," she said.

* * *

_Group C:_

The boys were having just about as much luck as the girls in terms of thinking of gifts. Naturally, they teamed up in order to find gifts for their respective friends, but the difficulty in doing so was the fact that none of them had any good ideas. And for the majority of their time, they were stuck in that corner.

"So just so we're clear," Naoto (K.) said, "none of us have any clue what we're doing?"

"That about sums it up," Jaune said sadly.

"Nobody has a clue what to get the girls, eh?" Kanji asked.

"That is indisputably true," Neptune said bluntly.

Narukami looked skyward, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "I suggest," he said, "that we all put our heads together."

"What makes you think that'll help?" Yosuke asked.

"If we bounce ideas around," Yu said, "perhaps that'll help us to think of the right gift."

"Okay then," Hyde said. "Let's try it. Who do we start with?"

"Why not Makoto?" Naoto asked. "She doesn't strike me as the type to be hard to find a gift for."

"Alright," Jaune said. "Who wants to snowball an idea first?"

"I got it!" Kanji said. "A fur coat!"

The others were stunned. "What?" Sun asked. "Why?"

"Well," Kanji said, "she's got the ears and the tail. Why not complete the set?"

"You just want her to look more like a squirrel," Neptune said, "don't you?"

Kanji felt his face implode! "N-no!" he said. "It's not like I'd find it adorable as hell or anything!"

"Okay, that idea's down," Jaune said. "But, maybe the clothing idea isn't the worst one. Y'know considering that Makoto tends to not... wear much."

"You got a problem with that?" Sun asked.

"Ignore him," Naoto said, backhanding Sun in the face. "But, maybe something like a dress or a skirt?"

"Does Makoto honestly strike you as a skirt or dress kinda girl?" Hyde asked.

"Well, I guess not," Naoto said.

"What about a sweater?" Neptune asked. "I remember this one time, when she came over for movie night with our team, she was wearing this big baggy sweater and seemed to really like curling up inside of it."

"Hmm, possibility," Yosuke said, rubbing his chin.

"Okay, maybe a sweater," Kanji said. "Any other hints?"

"What about a book or a movie?" Yu asked. "She seems to really like action stuff."

"That is true," Naoto said. "She likes them just about as much as Chie from what I've gathered. But what should we get? Like, a big set of something?"

"What about this?" Neptune asked, pulling something up on his scroll. The others looked, before their faces flushed with monumentous amounts of shame!

"N-Neptune Vasilas!" Yosuke said. "That's hentai!"

"Yeah," Neptune shrugged.

"And it's yuri!" Jaune added.

"Also yeah," Neptune said, as if it were the most obvious thing. "You guys do know that Makoto is bi, right? She's told me to my face a few times she's interacted with Mai where she-"

"Agh!" Kanji yelled. "What you and she talk about in your spare time is there, just don't tell it to us! And there's no way we're buying her any o'that shit! Do you know how much the other girls would kill us!?"

"Ah, probably right," Neptune replied.

"Gah!" Yosuke said. "Okay, enough of that! Sweater, we'll get her. And I already know a set of manga to get her. Manga that is _NOT _hentai, thank you very little, Neptune."

"Hey, I gave you the sweater idea," Neptune said. "I think I'm in the clear."

"Don't you think this is over," Yosuke said.

"Okay," Hyde said, "so we got a gift for Makoto. What about the others?"

"Let's try Ruby-chan next," Yosuke said. "We all got her some nice gifts for her birthday already, but what about Christmas?"

"Well," Jaune said, "we all know Ruby is really into pop culture and fantasy stuff. Also she loves weapons like you wouldn't believe. So what do we get her based around that?"

"Well," Yu began, before Naoto interrupted him with, "No."

"What?" Yu asked.

"No," Naoto repeated. "I know full well what you had in mind before, and let me stop you there. No."

"Woah," Kanji said, "what did senpai want to get her?"

"While I'm guessing it was a joke," Naoto said, "Narukami had the bright idea of getting Ruby a sex book."

"You wanted to what?!" Hyde yelled, looking particularly violated by those prospects.

"Oh for the love of me!" Jaune yelled. "What is with you guys!"

"She doesn't strike me as educated," Yu replied.

"Not the point!" Hyde said. "Why would you be so possessed as to think of that!?" Yu merely shrugged in response.

"Well," Sun said, "anyone have any... better ideas?"

"I've got one," Hyde said, eliciting the others to look at him curiously. "She has this whole kick for capes and what not, why not get her one?"

"A different cape?" Jaune asked.

"Kinda," Hyde said. "Y'know, maybe one that she can wear with her own? So maybe something like one of those half, jacket things? Or a scarf of some kind?"

"Not a bad idea," Sun said. "Work on it. And I've got the perfect thing for Blake?"

"Oh really?" Kanji asked.

"Well that was easy," Yu said.

"Huh?" Sun asked. "How do you mean?"

"Part of this," Yu said, "was just to get you guys to suggest ideas for your girls. And I've already got my plan for Weiss-san as well."

"Wait..." Hyde said. "What do you mean... our girls?" He, Yosuke, and Sun all began to blush under the implications, as Yu smirked proudly, turning and taking his leave.

* * *

December 24th: Christmas Eve.

Ragna felt somewhat self-conscious. He tugged at the collar of his sweater, silently wishing he could just change back into his coat. For this Christmas party he was invited to, everyone was dressing festively in sweaters, and Ragna was just happy he was able to convince Ruby and Yang to not put him into a stereotypical ugly Christmas sweater and instead just opt out for a basic, red knit sweater.

He was sitting in a dining room off to the side of a large, living area in one of the Kirijo Group's bought out mansions that she had offered for everyone to spend their Christmas Eve at. For the most part, Ragna was still not the most comfortable when it came to large crowds of people, but if there was one thing that he found himself incapable of, it was saying "no" to Mitsuru. And naturally, she demanded that Ragna come over and spend time with the group at Christmastime. Not just the eve, but the following day as well, when everyone would break down into their smaller families for a more intimate time together.

"Yang-chan, stay away from the eggnog!" Mitsuru herself snapped, walking into the dining hall to find Ragna. She herself was wearing a dark gray sweater, with some matching pants, each of which hugged her figure.

"Ah. There you are~" she mused. "So this is where you ran off to."

"Yup," Ragna said. "And it was going so well until you showed up."

"Well," Mitsuru said, pulling up a chair next to him, "it's how I tend to operate."

"And we're all the better for it," Ragna said.

Mitsuru gave a laugh, staring at Ragna as she held her head up in her hand, leaning against the table on her elbow. "I am happy you decided to come over, Ragna-san," she said. "You live such a life of toxicity that it's better for you to take these opportunities when people offer them. Particularly when you have friends out there willing to open up to you."

"Yeah," Ragna said simply, not really letting on how he was thinking about those prospects.

"Hey you two!" Akihiko said, leaning into the doorway, revealing that even he was wearing a sweater of his own, his decorated with a wolf's head on the front. "Come on in! The kids are gonna be opening their presents, and I want to see this!"

"Okay," Mitsuru said, pulling Ragna up roughly by his arm, dragging him into the lounge area.

First up was Yosuke, who was handing his gift out to Makoto. Naturally, they were both wearing Christmas sweaters of their own, with Yosuke wearing an orange sweater with the Junes logo plastered on the back, with Makoto wearing a light brown sweater decorated with different kinds of nuts.

She opened her present, revealing it to be sets of manga from Fists of the North Star and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure! "Oh, no way!" she said. "You got these for me, Yokee! Ah, thanks!"

"Yeah," Yosuke said. "The others had some rather colorful ideas of what to get you, so I went with something I knew you'd like. By the way, there's this one too," he said, holding out a smaller, softer gift. "This one was from all of us, not just me."

Makoto opened this one too, finding a rather extravagant, zip-up sweater, that was a pastel blue color with light designs of the Starry Night by Van Gough. "Woah," she said, looking it over.

"I know you're into stars and stuff like that too," Yosuke said. "So we pitched in to get you that."

"Ah, you guys!" Makoto said happily, pulling Yosuke into a tight hug!

"Who knew Hanamura-kun could do thoughtful," Chie said, whispering to Yukiko and Labrys, who both roughly hushed her!

"Makoto!" Noel said. "Show us what we got him!"

"Yes! Please!" Mai added.

"Oh boy," Yosuke said, being handed a box by Makoto. The first thing he pulled out was... hair dye. The same color of his hair.

"That was from me!" Mai said.

"...Thanks, Mai-chan," Yosuke said. "Really... appreciate that."

The second thing he pulled out was... bicycle brakes.

"That was from me!" Noel said. "Now you won't crash as often."

"...Thanks, Noel-chan," Yosuke replied. "Appreciate that one... too."

The last thing he pulled out was... okay, that was definitely interesting. He pulled out a season pass to an adventure park he'd been eyeing.

"That was mine," Makoto said. "You said you never liked to be bored so I figured, why not? Plus, you get to bring some friends for free. So if I ever get free time, hit me up and I'd love to join you!"

"Ah man," Yosuke said. "Makoto this was great!"

Mai and Noel looked to one another, equally smirking as they fist-bumped each other, proud of their part for pitching in the extra bucks so Makoto could get that for him.

"Okay, who's next?" Mitsuru asked, she and Ragna leaning in the doorway.

"Yoink!" Sun said, bounding over to Blake.

"Oh... joy," Blake said, smiling all the same. She took her gift from Sun, looking inside to see a beautiful bracelet set inside. There were four in total, ones decorated with the emblems of her and her teammates. "Wow..." she said quietly. "Sun, these look expensive, how did you get these?"

"I may have saved up some cash," Sun said. "I figured, hey, you might like something for you and your teammates and I just thought something a bit like-"

He was cut off as Blake pulled him in for a hug. "Thank you," she said. "Really, thank you."

Sun smiled, leaning away from the hug once she released him. "And now I feel like a jerk," she said, handing him his gift. Turns out, inside, was a set of tank-tops. Clearly a message for him to start wearing shirts more often. "Oh, ha-ha," he said. "I give you the thoughtful, meaningful gift and you in return you give me-"

He was cut off again when Blake handed him a framed photograph of the both of them at the school dance from a few months ago. It was a perfect photo, with the lights just right in the angle of the photo as the centerpiece was the two of them dancing, taken by who knows who. "I stand corrected," Sun said, taking the photo.

"Merry Christmas you moron," Blake said, hugging Sun again.

"Kanji?" Ruby asked. "Are you crying?"

"N-no..." Kanji replied, wiping his eyes, as Weiß patted his arm.

"I guess I'm next," Yu said, standing up and approaching Weiss, who was frozen like a statue as he approached her.

"Okay," Weiss said. "W-what did you get me?"

Yu smiled, as he handed her the present which she proceeded to unwrap. It was a brilliant crystal statuette with a snowflake engraved in the center, where in the base was Weiss's name engraved on it. "Oh wow," she said. "This is quite the sight."

"I thought of you when I first saw it," he said. "Plus, the snowflake can be very symbolic in its own right for the Christmas season and all that. So it can be a reminder of when I gave it to you."

"Yu, this is quite touching," Weiss said. "Thank you."

She handed Yu his own gift, which he proceeded to unwrap. Inside were tickets for a cruise that would take them from Vale to Menagerie on Remnant. "The only thing I know you like to do is fish," Weiss said, "and once you get to Menagerie, you can feel free to do that. These tickets will allow you a full week's stay in Menagerie. Just, uh, don't catch any of the fish related Faunus by mistake."

"How many tickets do I spy there?" Yosuke said. "Are there enough for the whole team?"

"There should be," Weiss said with a shrug. "Naturally I thought of that when I got these. So... d-don't let them go to waste Mr. Narukami."

"These are very thoughtful," Yu said. "Thank you, Weiss-san." Weiss honestly smiled upon hearing that.

By majority rules, everyone practically shoved Ruby and Hyde into the center next. The two looked awkward, but gave a laugh at one another.

"Okay," Hyde said, "I guess we're next."

"Looks like it," Ruby said. The two swapped gifts, with Ruby opening hers first.

Inside, she was stunned to find a brilliant white hoodie vest on the inside. It seemed to be her size, made of soft but not suffocating cotton. And the part that stuck out the most to her was her rose pattern sewn in red on the left breast pocket.

"Oh, wow," she said.

"They didn't have it in red," Hyde said, scratching his cheek. "But, I figured, it could still work. Right?"

"O-oh, yes," Ruby said. "The white is... well, it actually means a lot. Thank you, Hyde."

Hyde smiled, opening his own gift. Inside was the same hoodie that Ruby had gotten him from the mall.

"Oh, wow," he said. "Ruby, this looks awesome."

"Thanks Hyde," Ruby said. Hyde looked up at her, surprised to find her already wearing the hoodie he got for her. He smirked, slipping on his hoodie, the two giving each other a high five.

Yang smirked as she watched her little sister interacting with Hyde, before her eyes fell upon Akihiko. Whistling casually, she stepped over to him, tapping him on the shoulder. "Sup' Aki?" she said, holding out a gift to him. "I gotcha a little something."

"Oh, really?" Akihiko asked, taking the gift. "Thanks."

He opened the package, finding a high-end food processor on the inside. "I figured," Yang said, as Akihiko analyzed it, "since you're such a protein junkie you could use something like that. It can make your shakes and some juicy stuff outta whatever you want."

"Man, Yang," Akihiko said. "That's cool. Thanks. I grabbed something for you too."

Yang took the gift bag that Akihiko handed her, pulling out a swanky looking pair of aviators. "Ooh~" Yang hummed.

"I saw on your social media," Akihiko said, "that you have a pair of aviators you wear a lot. Put them on, check those out."

Yang put on the aviators, spooked as she saw a feed suddenly pull up. "No way," Yang said. "These are smart glasses?"

"Yeah," Akihiko said, holding out a remote. "You can control what you find with this."

"Awesome, Aki!" Yang said. "Oh, I'm gonna abuse these babies."

The two gave a hug, before Akihiko split off. Yang turned around, seeing Ruby, Blake, and Weiss all staring at her.

"What?" Yang asked.

"So..." Blake said. "The guy you were pursuing is... Akihiko?"

"Have you seen those abs?" Yang asked. "They could chisel stone."

"Good to know you have your priorities straight," Weiss said, still looking at the statuette Yu got him.

"Oh bite me," Yang said, shoving her shoulder. "You know I'm joking... But I'm simultaneously not wrong."

The group spent the rest of the evening having a great time with one another. More gifts were tossed around, with everyone enjoying themselves.

At one point during the night, Yu walked over to Yosuke while drinking a cup of cocoa in his hands. "Hey Yosuke," Yu said, "I heard that Makoto had a leak on Smash Bros. on her phone."

"What!?" Yosuke said, running over to Makoto, as she was standing patiently in the doorway. "Makoto! Narukami told me you had something!"

"Oh, yeah," Makoto replied. "I got something for you alright~"

Yosuke's smile faded the next moment upon hearing her flirtatious tone. He came to a startling realization the next instant, looking upward. Sure enough, right in the doorway was a set of... mistletoe. He looked over his shoulder, his face turning beat red, only to find Yu delivering a low-five to Mai.

"You... mother..." Yosuke said slowly.

And then it happened. Makoto grabbed the side of his head, planting a sweet peck to his cheek. She remained like that for a few seconds, before releasing the Persona user with a cheeky giggle.

"You want more than that," she said, "wait til' New Year's."

"That's cheating!" Ruby yelled. "That's not what I paid for!"

"Paid?" Yosuke asked.

"She and Mai set me up for it," Yu said.

"You weren't supposed to tell him!" Ruby said.

Overall, the night went on with the group having fun with one another, spending this night with fun and mischief, expecting a relaxing day to follow.

* * *

Christmas Day followed and the worlds were in a mutual calm serenity, born from the snow muffling all activity. Ruby was expecting to spend her day with her teammates, which she was setting out to do. In the meantime, however, she was looking for somebody else. She skipped along the snowy path in Vale, her gifted hoodie zipped up tight to her body, as she soon arrived at her destination.

Noel was waiting right there, with Ruby hurrying over to her! "Hey Noel!" Ruby said. "Good to see you!"

"Oh, good to see you too, Ruby," Noel said. "What'd you want to see me for?"

"Well..." Ruby said, bouncing around. "I heard from a friend that your birthday is actually on Christmas! So..."

She pulled out a gift box that she handed out to Noel! "Happy Birthday Noel!"

Noel had a stunned look on her face as she took the gift. "Oh, Ruby," she said, "you didn't have to do that!"

"Oh, don't worry," Ruby said. "I wanted to!"

Noel opened the gift, finding a brilliant violet hairpin on the inside. "Wow~" she said.

"I thought you'd like it," Ruby said. "Go ahead, try it on!"

Noel put the pin on, grinning wide. "Thank you Ruby," she said. "This really means a lot to me."

"It's no worries," Ruby said, the two entering a hug.

"Hey," Noel said, looking Ruby over, "I see you're wearing the hoodie Hyde got you."

"Yup," Ruby said, pulling her hood up. "It makes me feel warm. No matter the cold."

* * *

_**A/N: Merry Christmas everyone.**_

_**And so the long-awaited Christmas chapter is here. This one gave me a lot of laughs while writing it. The different processes the cast members went through made me smirk quite a bit.**_

_**For starters, we finally see Qrow and Daidouji make appearances! I decided to have them work alongside each other because... I don't really know. Considering in their respective franchises they have both worked as freelancers for their respective leaders, it just kinda flowed together. I also kinda see Daidouji, due to her visual similarities to Raven and Yang, she could almost operate like Qrow's illegitimate daughter. Let me know if you want more shenanigans between the two of them, cause' I think it'd be really funny.**_

_**Overall, the rest of the chapter was mostly just the characters plotting things out as they naturally would. I know I could've had more characters here and there like the Investigation Team or other side-characters, but this was exhaustive enough as it is.**_

_**A few last notes, we get a bit more of MakotoxYosuke in this (Still haven't thought of a name for their pairing), which you can expect a bit more of in the New Year's chapter I can assure you, and Ruby kindly wishing Noel a happy birthday. Thanks for those that informed me of that.**_

_**As well, a few fun facts! The bit where Yumi and Asuka were wearing those ears was in reference to the first episode of the Shinovi Master anime that I watched for "research purposes." I couldn't not include something like that because it opened up at Christmastime. In addition, the whole thing about Makoto being bi is something I actually found through research under her trivia section, so I decided to play off that as a gag, but I'm still totally shipping her with Yosuke, dontcha worry.**_

_**Overall, this chapter was nice and made me feel fuzzy, which was the intent.**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To Mystech Master: Thanks for the suggestions! I typically try to angle more towards comedy in this because that's what I labelled it as, but I am not against attempting more deep angst in the future. I actually had a different idea of my own, but suggestions are always appreciated! **_

_**To jadasimone16: Yeah, I totally failed to revisit Ruby and Hazama interacting, but I have plans to correct that.**_

_**To SolarS: Thanks for the feedback, and I can totally imagine situations where Nanako meets some of the more... colorful cast members while Yu and the others freak out like paranoid parents! XD**_

_**To Spider999: Thank you so much! It means the world to me to hear that, and I appreciate the suggestions!**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: That's what I was hoping for with Weiss and Yu! Thanks a lot!**_

_**To mikkeljerome13: The name Royal Flush is perfect! It makes so much sense and now I am forever and always calling them that! Thanks a million!**_

_**To AzuriteInsanity: Glad to hear the "Royal Flush" ;) is growing on you, that's what I was hoping for as well. Also, I now have plans for Sun and Seth interacting in the future. There's a joke with Seth I wanted to experiment with, and that'll fit perfectly. Thanks a lot!**_

_**With that said and done, thank you all for your continuous feedback, let me know what you think, and I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday with friends and loved ones. Until New Year's, see you then!**_


	36. New Year, New PAIN

A/N: So... I didn't get this totally completed since I had a friend spontaneously call me up to hang out for New Year's. But I figure, it's New Year's Day! I should at least get something out, even if it isn't totally done! So here's Part 1 of a new 2 Part story! Enjoy!

* * *

Have you ever had the experience of waking up with a splitting headache, feeling like every single muscle in your body is aching? Imagine amplifying that same pain by ten. Now you have at least... an idea of the amount of pain that Naoto Kurogane was experiencing.

Feeling as if his body were betraying him, Naoto managed with excruciating amount of pain to shove himself into a sitting position. He was halted in his attempts, however, as he felt a weight pressing down on top of him. Close to screaming in pain, Naoto shoved the individual off of him so that he may sit upright.

His vision was blurred to the point where almost everything were a blur. It was only after sheer willpower that he was able to see that it was actually Yumi that had been sleeping on top of him. She looked fairly disheveled, with her uniform jacket appearing long since abandoned and her hair an absolute mess. It was only her contented expression while sleeping that she looked somewhat okay.

Naoto raised a brow, his mind ignoring the fact that she had been sleeping on top of him. He did register the fact after a moment, feeling somewhat uncomfortable about it. He gently pushed Yumi off of him, laying her on her back on the ground beside him, Naoto's face growing red all the while.

It was no secret that he found Yumi a very attractive girl. It was a mutually agreed upon thing that Yumi was one of the most beautiful girls in the group that the adolescents melded into. With gorgeously styled, dark hair, with the most striking pale blue eyes anybody had ever seen, with a voluptuous set of... assets.

Nothing was helped in particular with her fairly revealing outfit that she wore in her shinobi transformation, leaving few things to the imagination, such as when she would be fighting, with the way her clothing would flow off of her waist or slip around her shoulders. The guys had also taken a fierce interest in the fact that when the ninja girls would lose their clothing during their fights, many times leaving them without a stitch to their name.

"W-wait... what...?" Naoto said to himself. He hadn't realized it at the time, but he had since laid his head back down on the ground, nuzzling his forehead into Yumi's shoulder, breathing in her scent. He sat back up, forcing himelf to sever connection with Yumi and not have these thoughts invading his skull.

He stumbled on his feet almost promptly upon standing up, almost face-planting right against the floor! His legs were unable to work, as his feet had fallen asleep. He collapsed to his knees outright, but the deal with his legs wasn't what had his attention.

His head was an absolute mess! Trying to stand up sent a web of pain shooting throughout his brain that stretched to the back of his neck and down his body! He had to bite his tongue to repress the urge to scream!

"Ugh," a nearby voice said. "Whoever has their knee on my back needs to back the fuck off before I rip off head and spit down their neck."

Naoto raised an eyebrow, looking to the right to see that he was, in fact, unintentionally kneeling against Carmine's back. "Carmine?" Naoto asked. "What in the worlds are you doing here?"

Carmine rolled over. His hair was pure white, indicating he was not currently using his EXS. Naturally, he was looking at Naoto with an animated scowl on his features.

"The fuck should I know?" Carmine asked. "I can't even remember what happened to me."

"Seriously?" Naoto asked. The young Bloodedge looked thoughtful for a moment, trying to recall what information he could. Only to come up with nothing.

His head was still killing him, making it impossible for him to remember anything, with trying only making him even more pained.

"Didn't I tell you to get the hell off of me?" Carmine demanded.

"O-oh, sorry," Naoto said, having to practically throw himself off of Carmine. "I got distracted."

"Whatever," Carmine said.

Confusion came back again as Naoto got himself into a comfortable sitting position. Just what was Carmine doing here? What was Yumi doing here? And, for that matter, what was Naoto himself even doing there?

He tried to take in his surroundings for the first time, because he had not been able to clearly take in the room by that point. His vision was blurry and near-sighted, only able to take in things directly right in front of him. Finally, he was able to make out the place he was in.

From what he could recall, this was the old dorm building that the Shadow Operatives had stayed in back when they were the Gekkoukan High group "SEES." They were in the foyeur if he wasn't mistaken. But, naturally, the question was "why?"

Another groaning noise caught Naoto's attention. He looked to his left and saw Lillica pulling herself roughly from behind a sofa, laying awkwardly on top of it. Her own vision seemed to get back in, seeing Naoto and Carmine.

"Oh hey~ guys~" she said. "Wassap~?"

"Lillica," Naoto said, "what're we doing here? What happened to us last night?"

"What?" Lillica asked. "Oh, yeah. I can't really remember. My head hurts too much."

"Are you seriously trying to fucking tell me," Carmine said, "that we are all hungover?"

"What?" Naoto asked.

"Come on," Carmine said. "We're sore all over, we can't remember what happened to us, it's pretty obvious. The only thing I don't get is, you're a major pussy," he said, pointing to Naoto, "and I don't intend to drink."

"That surprises me," Lillica said.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Carmine asked threateningly.

"What the hell happened?" a new voice asked. The three turned to see Kanji slowly dragging himself from behind his own sofa.

"Kanji?" Naoto asked. "What happened to... you...?"

The three looked astonished as Kanji turned to face them. He had a squiggly heart-shaped design on his left cheek, that stretched all the way to his forehead and his chin. "What?" he asked.

"Uh... Kanji...?" Naoto began, only to be cut off as Carmine and Lillica burst into fits of laughter!

"What?" Kanji asked again. "The hell're you laughin' at!?"

"Your face!" Carmine laughed.

"You got... you got something on your face!" Lillica said.

"What?" Kanji asked. He knelt down and looked in his reflection in the glass table, seeing his face. "What in the hell!?" He began desperately trying to wipe the smudge off of his face, but found that it was to little avail as it must have been some kind of permanent marker that refused to get off of him.

"This thing is stuck to my face!" he said angrily.

"Okay this is bullshit," Naoto said, scrambling around, clearly looking for something. The foyeur was a mess, with papers strewn about and even a few scraps of clothing that Naoto was desperately trying to shift through.

"What're you looking for?" Lillica asked.

"I'm trying to find my damn phone," Naoto said, taking a minute to stop his search as he rubbed his head. "It's gotta be here somewhere. Hopefully I might find a clue as to what in the name of God happened to us last night."

"I thought I told ya already," Carmine said, sitting up against the sofa. "We got shitfaced. How and why I have no fucking idea, but what else could it have been?"

"Well, yeah," Naoto replied. "But when you consider the adults we regularly hang out with, who would even let us drink? I mean Mitsuru is a big N-O that much is obvious. Even Ragna I think would be hard pressed to let any of us drink alcohol. And then there's that... giantess from the Hanzo Academy who treats the girls like her little sisters. While she seems a bit rough around the edges, I don't think she'd let us do something so utterly stupid."

"Well when you think of a better idea, hit me up," Carmine said, attempting to stand. That is, until a shudder shot through his entire body and he crumpled back to the ground! "Or... you know..." he added, slowly sitting back down. "I can just sit around for a bit longer. I mean, what's the hurt? Not like I got to go anywhere..."

Naoto raised an eyebrow at the In-Birth's antics. Even Lilica giving him a bemused look.

"What the hell?" Kanji's voice said.

"Oh, now what?" Naoto wondered. He managed to force himself to stand, looking at Kanji's direction, finding the Gentle Beast looking at a rather... interesting sight.

Turns out, on top of the dorm building's front desk was a... sleeping Seth. Sure enough, the assassin was curled up like a sleeping cat, content as could be as he was snoozing peacefully on top of the desk. Kanji could only look between he and Naoto with the most flummoxed look imaginable coated on his features.

"What the shit?" he wondered.

"I... have no clue..." Naoto replied, equally as confused.

Lillica managed to stumble her way over, looking at Seth with a very amused look on her face. "Wow..." she said. "Never have I seen him look so happy."

"See if you can wake him up," Naoto said, body leaning against the couch. "I can't really walk yet."

"Good plan Naoto-san," Kanji said. "He might have a clue what happened."

He began to shake Seth gently, eliciting no response. He shook him a bit more rough, but got no reaction once again. "Uh... Seth-san?" he asked, continuing to try in vain to wake him up.

"Is he even alive?" Lilica asked.

"Lilica!" Kanji yelled.

"Hey, it's worth checking," Lilica replied, leaning over to check if he was breathing. "Yup. He's good," she added, before proceeding to begin poking his cheeks.

"Boy," she said. "He's really out of it, huh?"

"Could you cut that shit out!?" Kanji said.

"Why?" Lilica said. "He isn't waking up for jack and squat. Besides, he's cheeks are so squishy. Boy, what do you think he's dreaming about?"

/

Voids. They were swarming. It was only justified. Since they sure as hell weren't gonna be spared from the forces besieging them.

One of the Eliminators was shot from above, cutting the head of one in half. There _had _been about fourteen in total. Now they were reduced to thirteen.

Seth came down from above in time to slice the snake-like creatures apart with his other Eliminator. Scratch that. There were ten left.

He picked up his other Eliminator, holding both dagger-like weapons in hand. Four Voids lunged for him, as a black blur shot in and chopped them all in half, reducing them to nothing but shadows. The dark shape returned to the hand of its owner, who proceeded to turn on her heel as gracefully as a dancer, and shoot a bullet right through the head of another Void.

Two more lunged for her, Seth was upon them before anything could blink, slicing them apart. Three left.

Her weapon shifted into its sword form. She stabbed one, before chopping the other apart with her sheath.

Seth was hypnotized. One Void left. He didn't even need to look at it, his attention was totally on her the entire time. He cut the Void apart without ever taking the eyes off of her beautiful motions.

Everything was perfect. "The agility of a beast. The mastery of a human. Never ceases to be tantalizing."

She smirked at him. "Guess you could say I still have my fangs," she said.

"Never once did I say you lost them," Seth said.

The two touched foreheads, Seth locked onto her amber colored eyes. Every time he saw her she looked so isolated despite her interactions with her friends.

He can see it in her eyes. Even when she's having such animated conversations; Berating Yang for her childish behavior, bonding with the shinobi girls over their skills, relating to Makoto about her animal traits or reading books with Orie or Shirogane. There's something about the way she stands.

When she stands alone, she looks like the loneliest creature on any Earth.

Blake reached forward, pulling down the collar of her jacket so she could lean towards him, lips open for a-

/

"WAAAAAKE UUUUP!"

Seth was awoken so jarringly he delivered a solid backhand on instinct, smacking Lilica straight in the jaw and sending her to the floor! He didn't stop there, his assassin instincts were on full red alert! He pushed himself up on one hand, spinning his legs in the air to keep any potential opponents at bay, which succeeded in pushing Kanji back as he tried to defuse the situation!

However, Seth failed to account for how he would feel upon waking up, as a web of pain shot through his body as if he were being pricked by burning needles! He promptly crumpled off the desk, smacking his head against it before crumpling to the floor right next to Lilica, who was still writing in pain from that punch! _Poison! _he internally cursed. _These swines must have poisoned me!_

He didn't let up, he forced every muscle in his body to move and lean himself up against the desk, pulling the Eliminators from his pocket, even as Kanji was trying to get him to calm down without having to hurt him! Everything came to a grinding halt, however, as a bloody spike was shot into the wall! "Will you all shut the flying fuck up?!" Carmine yelled. "I got a freaking headache and you all losing your shit ain't helping!"

Everyone blinked in surprise, even Seth, as they looked at the In-Birth slowly sit himself back on the ground.

"Okay then," Naoto said. "That... happened."

"That being said," Kanji said, "the lunatic's got a point. Will you please calm the hell down already, Seth-san? Nobody's tryin' ta hurt you!"

Seth blinked a few times. He carelessly dropped the Eliminators to the ground as he rubbed his eyes, still using the desk for leverage. While the manner in which Lilica did disturb him, that was nothing compared to the dreams he was having before.

Ever since that botched stealth mission into Beacon Academy Seth had been having recurring dreams about that damn faunus girl, Blake. It was starting to become a real nuisance. He barely even knew her, save for what he'd learnt from spying on her. (Which, for that matter, was way more than he needed to know.)

Still... he couldn't deny there was something alluring about her. She certainly seemed like all the descriptions of Night Blade agents he'd heard of. The way she moved, the way she acted, his dreams certainly weren't romanticizing anything, it was all factual.

"Hey, Seth! You still with us?" Naoto's voice asked, cutting his thoughts with a knife.

"I'm sorry, come again?" Seth asked.

"You spaced out on us," Naoto said, having managed to stand himself in front of the assassin.

"Sorry," Seth said. "I just... God, I feel terrible."

"Funny," Kanji said, still rubbing his own head. "That's about the consensus for everybody."

"We were hoping you could tell us what happened," Naoto said. "Nobody can seem to remember what happened to us last night. Or.. why we all feel so sick."

"Well I can't be of much help, I'm afraid," Seth replied. "I feel probably as dreadful as you all do now. Even worse considering that head injury I've just sustained," he added, rubbing his head to check for blood.

"Funny!" Lilica said, managing to stand. "That is about what I'm saying right now after you nearly broke my freaking jaw!"

"You startled me," Seth replied dryly.

"Only because you were taking forever to wake up and I was starting to get irritated!" Lilica replied indignantly.

"Okay, cut it out!" Kanji said. "Naoto-san, have you found your phone?"

"Not really," Naoto replied. "Probably left it somewhere stupid."

"Hey! Ripoff artist!" Carmine yelled. "Your pet ninja girl is waking up! Maybe she knows something!"

"Yumi?" Naoto asked. The group managed to stumble there way over to the place where Yumi was left sleeping soundly, finding her sitting herself up.

"N-Naoto-san?" Yumi asked. "Ugh, what happened to me? Why do I have such a splitting headache?"

"Well," Naoto said, collapsing down beside her. "We were hoping you could tell us that. But I guess you're just as much in the blank as we are."

"Okay, now this is just getting fucking stupid," Carmine said. "You gettin' drunk is one thing. But even I gotta say how stupid it'd be to think that the emo and the prim princess got themselves drunk!"

"Drunk?" Yumi said.

"That was the working theory," Naoto said. "Somehow we all got drunk last night. But to be frank, now we find it really unlikely."

"But what did happen!?" Kanji asked. "And... come to think of it... where is everybody else?"

That was indeed a big question. This particular group was not a regular group to simply meet up. Carmine was not really "friends" with just about anybody, and the same could be said of Seth to a lesser extent, but only because he purposefully kept from communicating with anybody. Lilica was scarcely seen outside of her clique with Heart and the others, and the same could be said for Kanji and the Investigation Team. Naoto was one of the most socially awkward guys on any planet, and Yumi, while not outright antisocial, did tend to stick with girls and those that she could resonate more with.

But if they were in the dorm building that SEES used to belong to, that had to mean that the others were around somewhere, right?

"Come on," Naoto said. "If we look around this place hard enough, I'm sure we can find somebody."

"Good point," Seth agreed. "Let's get looking."

"You want to help?" Kanji asked.

"I want to know why I can't remember anything from the past night," Seth replied. "No more. No less."

"Good enough for me," Naoto replied.

"Then let us begin searching," Yumi said.

"I ain't movin' for shit," Carmine said.

"Same," Lilica said. "I really don't want to move anymore! My body hurts way too much!"

"Fine," Naoto said. "You two stay here if you like. We're gonna look around."

On stumbling feet, the four managed to force their ways down the hall. While it would definitely be a slow and redundant process, they simply began opening or knocking on any and all doors they could to see if anyone was inside.

* * *

_**A/N: Happy New Year!**_

_**Sorry again that the chapter isn't done in full, but today was a spontaneous meet-up with a friend of mine for New Year's, and the fact that I won't have the time to do so tomorrow since I'm working, not to mention I made an endeavor that if I didn't get this chapter done on New Year's Eve, I would at least have **_**something **_**out by New Year's Day.**_

_**So this is based on a request by Will DeGrave where he wanted some of the group to wake up with a good old fashioned holiday hangover! And how could I not?**_

_**In terms of the characters I chose to open up with, I went with Naoto, Yumi, and Kanji since I thought they'd be nice, relatable and down to earth sorts, with Lilica being fun and bouncy, and Carmine being his aggressive self, since I haven't used him much.**_

_**Also, I threw in a bit of a crackship here with Seth and Blake. I'll be real, I'm not really shipping them hardcore, I still ship Black Sun. But I figured I'd throw this in for a joke for multiple reasons. The main one is the fact that every other member of Team RWBY is shipped with a character outside their franchise, and I think the one that worked the best for her (that wasn't taken already) was Seth, considering his descriptors for her and the fact they both had a full-blown routine built during the start of their battles.**_

_**Feel free to let me know what your thoughts are in the comments! I'm genuinely curious! XD (BTW, I already thought of a ship name for them and you can't stop me: Shadow Dance.)**_

_**More to come! Don't you worry! I will finish Part 2 as soon as I can!**_

_**Review Time:**_

**_To Mystech Master: Thanks as always for the requests! Again, it's not that I'm directly against darker content, but since I labelled this story initially as "Comedy" I figured it'd be a bit awkward if I tried doing darker stuff at times. Either way, it's always great to get more opportunities to use Ragna than I think I give him. Thanks again!_**

**_To SolarS: 1.) Totally check out AH3 and SK whenever you can! I haven't played much myself, but from what I've seen, they're super fun! I'm working through Estival Versus in my own time, and intend to pick up the new version of AH3 soon as I can! 2.) I like to think I have a clear beat on what I want for most of the characters, so it means a lot that you think so too! 3.) YES! YES! YES! Thank you! 4.) Daidouji is fairly tall, about 5'7". But moreso she's 'filled out' if you know what I mean. Namely, the six-pack. Either way, thanks for the comments!_**

**_To mikkeljerome13: Not a problem! Thank you for leaving the name for their pairing! I knew I loved it the moment I saw it. Feel free to let me know what other thoughts you have!_**

**_To Kamencolin: I really resonated with the idea of having Qrow and Daidouji working together when I initially thought of it. I just figured the way they operate in their respective franchises would mesh well, and I standby what I said about Daidouji looking like Qrow's daughter. So you can expect to see them more in the future!_**

**_And on the same subject, to Will DeGrave: Don't worry about sounding pushy, you're good. And I'll certainly dwell on the idea you had for Qrow and Suzune hookin' up. You know me, won't turn down a good ship ;)._**

**_And to the guest user disappointed I didn't have Ragna and Mitsuru hook up in the last chapter - I'm sorry! I'll admit I was still playing with the idea initially, letting others see what they think. I promise I'll have them connect more in the future!_**

**_To fernandamichelleraya: Yeah, the more I thought about it, Akihiko and Yang worked the best. He's the only person that Yang genuinely flirted with (unless you count Yosuke looking better in the trash can as "flirting") and overall, they had an undeniable flare. _**

**_To Naoto Redgrave: Yeah, I think I _may _have overdid it with Neptune a bit there. But I don't regret it! XD_**

**_And finally, to Neptunia56: Thanks as always! Glad that ending warmed the heart. _**

**_Overall, thank you all as always for reading and leaving your thoughts! I hope you all had a happy holiday, and Happy New Year once more! Until next time (preferrably soon) have a wonderful evening, and take care!_**


	37. New Year, New PAIN (The Second Part)

Seth was still internally kicking himself. Not only for his hormonal teenage fantasies over Blake Belladonna, but for the fact that he let these idiots manage to sneak up on him in the first place. He honestly had no idea how he could have been swindled by these buffoons into dropping his guard and let them drug him the way he presumed they must have, resulting in him having this splitting headache and exhausted body.

He was an assassin for God's sake. An agent of the night, who should forever be unseen one with the shadows. But ever since these morons had come into his life, he seemed to be losing his edge.

"Yo, Seth?" Naoto asked. "You okay there? You were spacing out... again."

"Forget it," Seth said. "Let's just find somebody already and figure out what happened to us last night. The sooner I can get out of here, the better." He said this as he opened up another door, only to find yet another empty dorm room.

For the past several minutes, Naoto, Kanji, Seth, and Yumi were all looking throughout the Iwatodai Dorms, where they found themselves waking up that morning. All of whom with splitting headaches, sore bodies, and the inability to remember how they got there or what precisely happened to them the night prior to make them all feel so awful. The working theory suggested by Carmine Prime was that they had all somehow gotten drunk the night before, and they were all suffering from a hangover.

Naturally, this theory wasn't entirely believed by most, considering that many of those that would normally never have the desire to drink were all feeling equally awful as those who were deemed as possibilities, like Carmine or Lilica. But at the rate they were going, they really had no other ideas. Which is why they were searching desperately throughout the dorm building in the hopes of finding somebody who might have the capacity to remember the night before.

"What's stopping you from just leaving now?" Kanji asked Seth. "Wouldn't be the first time you just up and vanished on us."

"As I said before," Seth said, opening yet another door, "I want to figure out who had the audacity to drug me last night. So that way I may send them to a world of despair." He punctuated by slamming the door upon finding it empty.

"That's a bit excessive Seth," Yumi said, far more gentle in her search. "I'm sure nobody meant any harm. It was most likely just somebody along the lines of Yang-chan or Yosuke-kun messing around."

"That still doesn't excuse it," Seth said. "I am surprised that you of all people would be willing to forgive such a blatant act of irresponsibility, Yumi."

"While I am certainly not," Yumi said, "I would be scarce to say that I would 'send them to a world of despair'."

The shinobi and the assassin shared a long, hard stare at one another. Both were had so many parallels yet some blatant differences as well. While both were so firmly cemented in their training and lifestyle, they both had some clear breaks in their respectful understanding of their dedication. Particularly when it comes to the manner in which they fulfill their tasks.

Yumi would have at one point in life been willing to kill her enemy, and even would if it were a violently evil individual, Seth walked the line between good and evil far too much for her willingness to tolerate. So Seth was naturally at odds with her, unflinching in his steely resolve to "do what's necessary" and his belief in "the ends justify the means".

Naturally, both Naoto and Kanji saw the two of them delivering their cold/shadowy auras that sent chills down the spines of the young Bloodedge and Persona user, telling them clearly that a fight may break out if left unchecked.

"H-hey you two," Naoto said. "L-let's not go doing anything rash now."

"He's right," Kanji said. "Let's just find somebody else, okay? Seein' that this is the same dorm building that Mitsuru-san, Akihiko-san and the rest used when they were younger, one of them is probably here."

"I would be inclined to agree," Yumi said. "I should think that Mitsuru-san would be able to inform us on our current situation." Seth merely nodded, stoic as ever. At least they were both agreeing and not at each other's throats any longer.

Naoto and Kanji both let out relieved sighs as they continued on their way. He came upon yet another dorm, opening the door and looking inside. He was half expecting to find yet another empty room at the rate that he was going, only to find a most disgusting smell on the other side!

"Oh sweet merciful crap!" Naoto exclaimed, holding his nose and ducking down before he could even see what was inside!

"What's up Naoto-sa-?" Kanji asked, Yumi walking beside him, before they both caught a whif of the smell emanating from the room themselves. Both recoiled and held their own noses, doing everything in their power not to vomit! In their current state, each and every one of them were a hairpin away from throwing up on the floor from anything that may gross them out!

"Holy fuckin' shit!" Kanji cursed. "What died in there!?"

Naoto kicked the door open, before the three collectively stepped away, Seth waiting on the sidelines so as not to find himself in their situation. On the other side, they saw a bowl laying on the ground with some... thing inside! It was impossible for them to tell what it might have once been intended to be, but what was clear was that it was not safe for human consumption any longer. Not exclusively from what looked suspiciously like a layer of mold comfortably growing on the surface.

"What happened in there?" Naoto asked. "And why is that dangerous element sitting inside?"

Through the darkness of the unlit room, they soon focused on a figure laying inside. It was Mai, laying upside down off of the bed in the room, a goofy smile on her face as a trail of drool was coming off her. _Of course,_ the four outside the room thought.

From nearby, they also caught sight of Heart and Noel sitting beside the bed, head's resting against each other as they also slept peacefully.

"How the hell can they sleep in there with that... thing with them?" Naoto asked.

"No clue," Kanji said. "But frankly, from what I've seen with Mai-san's ability to eat, I don't think anything would be enough for me to_ want _to understand her."

"And knowing Noel," Yumi added, "and the fact that she _makes _these things, it's safe to say she's utterly nose-blind to them."

"And in that pink haired menace's case," Seth said in reference to Heart, "it's very likely she focused on ignoring it out of the kindness of her heart."

"Well that's all fine and good," Naoto said, "but how do we get inside?"

The four all looked to one another with very, very reluctant expressions on their faces.

"I mean," Naoto said, "we should ask those three about what happened to us. But we very well can't go in there with that landmine in our path."

"No way in hell," Kanji said, "am I going anywhere that Mystery Food... Death Dinner... atrocity thing, that's been allowed to ferment overnight!"

"Not a single evil from the Hollow Night," Seth added, "could ever compare to that thing. And I know that my mortal soul is not mighty enough to venture forth in there."

"I agree with Seth," Yumi added. "That concoction is as foul as any yoma that has ever been born. Constructed from nothing but only the most unholiest of evils that the sheer ignorance of mankind could conjure up. Even with the fierceness of my shinobi training, I know myself well enough to know that I would be incapable of making my way in there and being able to survive."

"Well there is no way I am going anywhere closer to that thing than I am right now," Naoto said. "Fine! I think it's for the best we just leave them be and see if we can find anyone else. I mean, finding out what happened to us isn't worth... you know... anything that thing can do to us, right?"

"Totally," Kanji agreed.

"Certainly," Yumi added.

"Undoubtebly," Seth said.

"Right," Naoto said. "Alright, let's continue looking."

For the next several pegs or so, they came upon just more empty rooms. Which, to be honest, didn't surprise any of them. With the knowledge of the eldritch abomination in the room they just left, it made the most sense that each and every person present wanted to get as far away from that thing as they could. In fact, the four would be surprised if they could even find anybody on the floor they were currently on.

But eventually, they did find another occupied room on their floor. In this room, Akatsuki was standing directly in front of the door... while sleeping. Yes, somehow, the War Demon was able to sleep while standing up, somewhat protectively, in front of the door.

"Well there's something you don't see every day," Seth said dryly.

Behind the sleeping Akatsuki, they could see Jaune and Pyrrha fast asleep in the room, with Yomi grabbing onto Jaune's waist as she had her head laying in his lap.

"What an odd group," Yumi said, rubbing her chin.

"Well let's see if we can wake them up," Kanji said, walking up to Akatsuki. He shook Akatsuki by the shoulder, until the soldier's eyes opened wide!

He socked Kanji right in the gut, before slipping and falling flat on his back!

"Akatsuki!" "Kanji!"

Yumi went to Kanji's side as Naoto tried to help Akatsuki, whilst Seth calmly walked inside the room.

"My body..." Akatsuki said. "My head... I feel so... weak... and broken..."

"So..." Naoto said. "I take it you don't recall what happened to you, in that case?"

"N-not remotely," Akatsuki replied. "Are we under attack?"

"Not exactly," Naoto replied. "I'm afraid it's something... far more stupid."

Seth knelt down in front of Jaune, raising a brow at the sight that lay before him. He roughly shook Jaune by the shoulder, causing the Huntsman to look up at him with a fretful look on his face.

"S-Seth...?" he asked. "W-what happened?"

"We were hoping you might have the answer to that question," Seth replied.

"Ugh!" Jaune said, holding his head. "Oh... why does my head hurt so much?"

His jagged movements caused Yomi to shift on top of him, her eyes slowly opening. Jaune looked down, face becoming radiant at the prospects of having her clutching onto him so tightly.

"Oh, hello there," Yomi said. "Good morning."

"Uh! Well! What the?" Jaune said. "T...thank you?"

"I don't suppose you have any better idea as to what happened?" Seth asked.

"Huh?" Yomi asked, sitting back up. She suddenly clutched her own head, groaning in discomfort. "W-well now that you mention it..." she said. "I feel dreadful. Everything is just a blur."

"Shame," Seth said.

His attention turned to Pyrrha, who hadn't shifted remotely from all the noise. He shook her shoulder next, causing her to look at him. "S-Seth?" she asked.

"Yes," Seth replied. "Pyrrha, do you recall anything from the night prior?"

"W-what...?" Pyrrha asked, before clutching her own head. "Ngh! I-I don't know. I feel horrid."

"I take that as a 'no'," Seth said. "This whole situation is growing more ridiculous by the moment."

"I don't understand," Akatsuki said, now able to stand. "What happened to us?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out, unfortunately," Naoto said. "So far all of us, plus Carmine and Lilica are in the same boat. All of us feel like shit and can't remember a thing."

"We are endeavoring to figure out the cause of this situation," Yumi said. "But so far the only other people we have found were Mai-san, Noel-san, and Heart-chan. All of whom were... unattainable."

"I too would like to know why I feel this way," Pyrrha said. "But I'm sorry, I don't think I'd be of much help."

"Same," Jaune said. "I feel like crap. Moving alone is gonna be a struggle."

"Likewise," Yomi added. "I am in desperate need of some sprouts to recover from this."

"There's no shame in that," Naoto said. "Akatsuki, do you think you can come with us?"

"I would," Akatsuki said, "but I think it'd be preferable if I stay with these three until they have sufficiently recovered from this ordeal. I can recover fast, so I will task myself with monitoring them."

"What a gentleman," Yomi said, fanning her face dramatically.

"Thanks Akatsuki-san," Kanji said. "Uh, Carmine and Lilica are in the foyeur still. So if you could see how they're doing, it'd be appreciated."

"Yeah," Naoto said. "Get yourselves some coffee and rest up. We're gonna keep looking."

Akatsuki saluted like a true soldier, as the other four made their way out. At least they found some more friends to wait up for them, but the bad news was that they were still no closer to finding out what happened to them than they started. But at the very least, they figured out that this was far from an isolated occurrence.

Akatsuki was a trained soldier, so getting him drunk was gonna be a real fight to the bitter end. Jaune and Pyrrha were far too innocent to ever do anything so callous. And Yomi prided herself on being a lady, so she would certainly not willingly do something so _un_ -ladylike.

"Well this is certainly getting curiouser and curiouser," Naoto said, as the group made their way to the second floor.

"Don't know about that," Kanji said. "I was gonna go with something more along the lines of, 'shittier and shittier'."

"While I may not be as eloquent," Yumi said, "I agree with Kanji. This whole situation is getting more aggravating."

"Well," Naoto said, "so long as we keep looking around, at the rate we're going, we have to find at least somebody that can help us out a bit more."

Upon reaching the second floor, the group began once more looking through whatever door they came upon. Same as before, they were having a hard time coming upon anybody else, with most doors leading to empty rooms. That is, until Naoto opened up one door only to find himself jumping out of his skin once again at what he found inside!

Naoto (Shirogane) was holding Sun by the collar of his shirt, handgun raised in her other hand as she looked at him with murderous intent! Her hat was off her head and she was wearing a simple white dress shirt as opposed to her over the top, Sherlock Holmes style of attire. "You filthy, uncouth, little troglodyte!" she said angrily. "I've half a mind to shoot you where you stand!"

"W-what with the, huh?" Sun said, looking like he was still half asleep!

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Naoto yelled, as he and Yumi ran over to pull Naoto off of Sun, with Kanji holding the Faunus upright as he nearly crumpled to the ground!

"Easy there, Naoto-kun!" Yumi told Shirogane. "There's no need for this!"

"Seriously," Kurogane added. "W-what's the problem?"

"This piece of filth got me drunk, that's what!" Shirogane replied. "Such dirty, uncivilized, rude behavior must be punished by force, in a way that he will never forget!"

"I dunn... what-?" Sun asked.

"Naoto-san," Kanji said, "do you really know that he got you drunk?"

"I found him laying beside me as I awoke!" Shirogane said. "And you can clearly see that he's still intoxicated and everything!"

"The only reason I look that way," Sun said, "is because I literally just woke up! From you trying to strangle me, might I add!" Indeed, he was suddenly far more coherent and able to stand on his own.

"W-...what?" Shirogane asked.

"Yeah," Sun said. "I'm not remotely drunk. In fact, I think I'm among the 1% of us who _didn't _get drunk last night."

"Wh - so - huh?" Shirogane said, her brain seeming to be malfunctioning.

"So I take it," Yumi said, "you did not, in fact, get Shirogane drunk last night?"

"No," Sun said. "I figured out what was happening pretty early on, so I decided to just sit on the sidelines and watch as everything went down. Because, you know, I thought it would be funny."

"Does that mean," Seth asked, "that you actually know what happened to us last night?"

"None of you do?" Sun asked.

"You said it yourself, Sun," Naoto said, "somehow each and every one of us, save for you and a few others apparently, got drunk. How and why, we have no idea. In fact, none of us even remember what we were doing here to begin with."

"Huh," Sun said. "I suppose that makes enough sense given what happend to you all last night."

"So do you think you could tell us exactly what that was?" Kanji asked, somewhat impatiently.

"Sure thing," Sun said with a shrug.

* * *

/Previously:/

* * *

"This night is gonna be awesome," Sun had said earlier that night, as he watched Ruby and Heart animatedly smack Ragna's shoulders numerous times as they had just lost a match of Mario Kart to the Bloodedge after he was able to beat them upon getting thrown into a game by Yang and Mitsuru. The entire round had been very energized with Jaune, Hibari, Makoto, Yang, Hyde, Saki, Kanji, Asuka, Celica, Yukiko, Noel, Homura, Pyrrha, Yosuke, Lilica, Yu, Katsu, Weiss, and Chie all freaking out as they watched the game persist.

The New Year's Eve party at Iwatodai Dorm was going off with a rounding start. Team RWBY, JNPR, and SSSN from Remnant, Hyde, Linne, and Vatista from their world, who managed to swindle Carmine into coming, Noel and her group, who managed to drag Ragna with help from Celica, Heart with her friends Saki, Lilica, Weiß who bought Scharlachrot, the whole of the Investigation Team, and the ninja girls from Hanzo, Gessen, and Homura's team all gathered up to take part in the meeting.

Naturally, nobody could have anticipated the trouble that was going to crop up that evening. But, sure enough, one particular sadist was looking to make the night a little more... eventful. This would turn out to be Haruka, one of the members of Homura's Crimson Squad. Desiring something interesting to occur that would make this New Year's a night to remember (ironic, given what would occur afterwards) she did something that nobody would see coming.

Naturally, the Queen of Executions Mitsuru demanded that everyone behave themselves during the countdown to midnight and assured that adult supervision would be on standby at all times between herself, Akihiko, Yukari, Daidoji, and Ragna (who was, as typical, a reluctant party). This demand for patience was helped by recollections of the party at the club where a majority of the adolescents were "drunk off of atmosphere" and embarrassed themselves.

Whether it be from being a former member of Hebijo or a current renegade, Haruka was not determined to let the night go off without anything to help things be a bit more "engaging" and desperately searched for a means of enjoyment that at the very least would satisfy her. Thankfully, in the time that had gone by, she had somewhat found a kinship with the Gessen Academy student Shiki in her desire to find the means to maek the night more eventful than if they had just been left to their own devices.

So, the two made plans between one another to make the night enjoyable, without getting the ire of the adults watching them like hawks. And naturally, it all boiled down to one thing: alcohol.

They knew that nobody would ever allow them to bring alcohol to the dormitory. They decided that it would need to be stealthy if it were gonna happen at all. Which, given the fact that they were shinobi, shouldn't be too hard.

So, the two had decided to sneak in their own supply of alcohol for the party. They only needed to know if there was one last person that would join their operation. Which, at the moment when the party was going off, was watching them with a skeptic gaze. Because, while she had denied, was obviously fully aware of the situation.

"So," Yang said, sneaking over to the two as they had broken off from the rest of the group for the front desk, "you two are still gonna go down with this?"

"Sure enough," Haruka said. "This party is gonna be way too dull without a little spice. Who knows? We may even get a bit of action out of it~"

"You have fun with that," Yang said. "I'mma just hang out with those who you don't drug."

"I'm, like, totally bummed you didn't agree with this, Yang," Shiki said. "I would've thought you'd be down with it."

"Nah," Yang said. "I'm just gonna do me. I just want to play with people who're gonna know what they're doing and what's happening."

"Fair enough," Haruka said with a shrug. "If you say so. But you're not gonna stop us, right?"

"I won't stop you," Yang said. "But just don't go getting me into trouble when they inevitably figure out that you tried to drug them."

"We'll keep that in mind," Shiki said with a shrug.

"How're you even gonna get everyone else to drink?" Yang asked.

"Oh," Haruka said smugly, "we have ways."

Yang watched with a raised eyebrow as the two ninjas made their way forward. Using her puppet bot, Haruka dragged the cooler filled with sodas and drinks that was once sitting by the sofa, that nobody else noticed due to being consumed by watching the game again, in a vain attempt to see Team RWBY's Rose Red and the Extraordinary Rare Maiden attempting to beat Ragna in a Mario Kart course, only to struggle once more against his disinterested skill.

Delivering a high-five to each other, Shiki and Haruka began going through all the juice or soda bottles and cans and began spiking each and every one of them. Yang managed to swipe a drink of her own before it got spiked, as she casually watched them with her perpetually raised brow as they obsessively spiked every drink with enough alcohol that they could, before resealing them all. Yang was honestly wondering how they would reseal the cans, but they were able to with Haruka's puppet effectively welding the caps shut.

Eventually, once they were satisfied, Haruka snuck the cooler back to the sofa before it was missed, before delivering another high five to Shiki and sneaking their way over with their own drinks. Yang let loose a sigh, before sitting back with the group, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The first one seemed to be Blake, who had opened a bottle of juice almost the moment the cooler had been returnd to its spot. She got tipsy not even a full few minutes after taking a few swigs. The next thing anyone paying attention knew is that she began getting a little... comfy with Sun.

Blake suddenly began rubbing up against Sun as they sat on the sofa, which naturally, the blonde haired faunus noticed. "Uh, Blake?" he asked. "Are you okay?"

"I feel great," Blake said bluntly, her cheeks flushed, though not from embarrassment. That much was clear from her stone cold expression. "Why are you asking?"

"W-well," Sun said, as she inched her face closer to his, "it's just you've never gotten this... close to me before."

"Do you mind?" she asked.

"W-well, I mean-" Sun stuttered, unable to find his words. "It's not to say I'm not happy, I'm just... y-you don't typically do-"

Blake suddenly grabbed him by the side of his head. "You know..." she said. "Your eyes are so fucking blue..."

This caught Hyde's attention from nearby, turning around to see his friend acting somewhat unnatural. "Blake?" he asked.

"Shut up Hyde," Blake said. "I'm paying attention to Sun..."

Sun was definitely confused, as he looked down at Hyde, who could only give a clueless shrug. The Huntsman-in-training looked down at Blake's hand, at the bottle that threatened to fall from her grip. He slippd it out of her grip, her attention so intently focused on his face as she inched closer and closer to him that she didn't even notice. He gently pushed her back, taking a whiff of the drink inside.

"Alcohol?" he wondered. His attention was taken, however, when Blake began kissing his hand he was holding her back with.

Both Hyde and Sun jumped in surprise at the intensely intimate activity that Blake was partaking in! They were snapped from their frozen stupor, however, as Haruka and Shiki knocked them aside! They had noticed when Blake was acting a bit more tipsy and was watching it with entertained expressions, as it was everything they were hoping for. But spotting Sun was onto them, they promptly knew they needed to take care of the situation, or else they would risk losing everything!

"Shut up," Haruka said firmly.

"Wait! What're you doing?" Sun asked.

"Dude," Shiki said. "Both of you totally need to just drop this whole thing. This night is gonna, like, become totally awesome so long as you don't go tattling on us!"

"Did you get Blake drunk?" Hyde asked firmly. "Did you spike her drink?"

"That's besides the point," Haruka said.

"I think that is entirely the point," Hyde said.

"Guy," Yang said from nearby, "it's best to just drop it. It'll be less trouble."

"Yang!" Sun and Hyde said. "You knew about this!?"

"Of course I did," Yang said. "They asked me to help. I didn't, so don't go freaking out or nothing, but I know that it's just gonna be less trouble if we ride this thing out."

"But... Blake is drunk," Hyde said. "Isn't she your best friend?"

"Yeah," Yang said. "But I can't deny that part of this is pretty funny. Like this part."

Before either could ask, Blake suddenly grabbed Sun from behind and put her face up against the back of his neck. "You left me," she said. "I don't think so."

"Oh jeez," Sun said with a defeated tone.

"Have fun Sunny," Haruka said, returning to the foyeur.

"And remember," Shiki said, following her, "no telling~"

"So..." Hyde said, "what do we do about this, exactly?"

"Hold her for a second," Sun said, tossing the stumbling Blake on top of Hyde, before he could protest, and headed for the front door.

"No!" Blake said, pushing Hyde roughly in the face! "I don't want you! Get off me!"

"Glad to know you like me so much," Hyde said sarcastically. He was half-expecting Sun to just leave, but instead he pulled out one of his nun-chucks and shot into a nearby tree. Seth came tumbling out, screaming in pain!

"Hey Seth," Sun said, "do you think you could help me with something?"

"You shot me in the freaking kneecap!" Seth yelled. "What makes you think I'll help you with anything!?"

"Well that's just what you get for spying on us," Sun said casually. "Now get in here. I need help."

Seth managed to drag himself into the dorms, looking at Sun with a deadly glare. "Keep an eye on Haruka and Shiki for us," Sun said. "We gotta keep an eye on Blake for awhile."

"What's wrong with her?" Seth asked.

"The less you know, the better," Sun said.

Seth merely shrugged, stepping into the foyeur as Sun and Hyde propped Blake up and carried her to a room to rest off her drunkness. Blake shot Sun a seductive look as they walked.

"You sure you don't want me to leave you two alone?" Hyde asked, feeling immensley uncomfortable with Blake's current state.

"You leave me alone with her," Sun said, "and I will never forgive you."

"Fair enough," Hyde replied.

Unfortunately, leaving Seth alone proved that it was a terrible idea. Because minute one, Shiki strut over to the assassin and handed him a drink. Totally unaware of the spiked liquid, he took it and began to drink, feeling like he could use something. And of course, Yang didn't bring it up to Seth whatsoever, as she was genuinely entertained with the prospects of seeing him get drunk.

From there, in the several mintues that had gone by, things only spiraled further and further. The others in the foyuer all got drunk relatively quickly as they drank from the spiked soda and juice. And this became really apparent as Sun and Hyde came back, having sufficiently ensured that Blake would sleep off her drunken state.

"Hey~ Hydey~"

"Oh sweet merciful Amaterasu," Hyde cursed, finding Ruby flopping onto the floor right in front of him, her face as red as her iconic cloak.

"Okay," he added. "Guessin' that Seth didn't do his job in keeping an eye on Haruka and Shiki, eh?"

"Nope," Yang said from nearby.

"You're awfully casual with your little sister bein' drunk off her ass," Hyde said.

Yang gave a shrug again. "So long as she doesn't get hurt and nobody takes advantage of her - Hyde - I'll allow it. Besides, it wasn't like she ever would have willingly gotten drunk at any point in her life moving forward. Best to at least let it happen once and be done with it."

"You know," Hyde said, "I don't exactly know how to take the fact that you slipped my name into that sentence during the part where you mentioned people taking advantage of her."

"I have no idea what you are referring to, mister," Yang said.

"How many people are gone?" Sun asked.

"Kido!" Seth's voice yelled. He then stumbled out from behind the couch with an Eliminator in one hand and another can in his other. He was barely able to stand as he prepared to attack Hyde. "I'm gun kill ou now!"

"No!" Ruby said, managing to get back on her feet, reaching for Crescent Rose from behind her but unable to grab it to save her life. "I won't let you kill him! He's mine!"

"Well there's one," Yang said, as both Seth and Ruby desperately tried to attack each other to no real avail!

"You know," Sun said, rubbing his chin as he watched Seth fall completely off his feet. "I was actually hoping something like this would happen."

"Seriously?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah," Sun said, rubbing the back of his head. "I mean, he needs to loosen up some, yeah?"

"No," Hyde said. "Well, yeah he should. But not like this!"

"You... damn... kids..."

That put everyone present, even the drunk ones, quite on edge as they all turned to see Ragna standing at them with his own flushed face, marred by the rueful expression on his face! The Black Beast aura covered his body as he pointed angrily at them. "None of you can ever shut the fuck up, can you?" he said. "Has it seriously come to the point where I'm gonna have to beat some sense into you?"

"N-n-n-n-n-n-no!" Hyde stuttered. "N-n-none of that Ragna!"

"Boy, calm down!" Ruby said, sounding quite happy despite the looming presence of death staring at her! "No need to get all angry."

"Ruby! No!" Sun said.

"Don't talk down to me you damn brat!" Ragna yelled.

That is, until a judo chop to the back of his neck came from a very peeved looking Mitsuru! "I don't think so," she said. "You have to learn to calm down, Ragna-san."

"Why are you always on my case you bitch!?" Ragna yelled. "Just leave me the fuck alone already!"

Everyone watching balked at the words spilling from Ragna's mouth! As Mitsuru continued to stare Ragna in the eye, they all felt the temperature in the room drop, knowing full well that unbridled rage was going to be unleashed at any moment! That is, until her face suddenly turned quite saddened, her eyes becoming very glassy.

She grabbed Ragna by the collar and began shaking him roughly, dramatically crying! "Why can't you ever just be happy!?" she demanded. "You're always so rough and rude and crass and it takes astronomical effort for me to get you to actually enjoy yourself around me! Do you hate me!? Do you hate me or something!?"

The others watching all looked so utterly confused by seeing the normally srong and unflinching Mitsuru Kirijo broken down like a rejected school girl was... well quite surreal.

"Well," Sun said. "That came out of nowhere."

Ragna finally grabbed Mitsuru by the hands and kept her from shaking him. "It's not that I hate you, calm the fuck down," Ragna said.

"No! You hate me!" Mitsuru said. "You never want to be around me!"

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Ragna asked. "I come over basically any time you ask."

"Only when I have to beg you!" Mitsuru yelled again.

"No," Ragna said. "I just don't let myself be around people almost at all."

"Because you have this death wish mission of yours!?" Mitsuru yelled. "I don't want to have another friend die again so you can just drop that insanity now before I'm forced to hurt you!"

"You talking about that Shinjiro guy again?" Ragna asked. "How many times do I have to tell you I'm not him?"

"Not just him you imbecile!" Mitsuru yelled. "God! Why do you have to be so much like everyone I've lost!?"

"I don't fucking know!" Ragna yelled, gripping her arms tight! "Just... just stop making me feel guilty for shit I had nothing to do with."

Mitsuru now looked hurt, but in a different way. "No," she said. "No, I don't blame you for anything. I don't want you to feel guilty. I just..."

She leaned forward and touched their foreheads together. "I just want to do better with you than I had with the people I've lost," she said. "I care about you too much."

"You're so lonely Ragna-san, even if you don't know it. I can tell. Whenever I see you standing without anyone else it's like... it's like you're the loneliest creature on any world. Why can't you just let yourself be happy?"

And then Mitsuru's body went limp, falling right asleep in Ragna's arms. He picked her up without a speck of effort, despite his own drunkness, walking right past Hyde, Sun, Yang, Ruby, and Seth without so much as a glance at them.

"Well that all just sort of happened," Sun said. "We didn't even take part in that whatsoever."

"I agree," Hyde said. He heard sniffing next to him, looking over to see Ruby crying in a very over the top manner!

"It's so beautiful!" she said, flopping over to Hyde with her arms over his shoulders. "Oh, my OTP is coming together at last! Yang I'm so happy!"

"I know Rubes," Yang said, patting her back as her little sister still lay slouched against Hyde. "I know."

"Well if that's what happened with these four," Sun said, "what about the others?"

"I don't think they're going to be any problem," Yang said, pointing to the sitting area. Sure enough, sitting in there was Weiss crying animatedly on top of a table, with dramatically crying Saki, Linne, Ikaruga, and Yumi all sitting around her.

"What in the name of Dust happened there?" Sun asked.

"Weiss asked Yu if he was single," Yang replied, "and when he said 'no' that all happened."

"Why did he say 'no'?" Hyde asked. "He _is _single!"

Yang shrugged. "Maybe he didn't know who he was talking to?" Yang asked.

"Because," Yu said, emerging behind Sun and Hyde right the duece out of nowhere, "my heart is not so easily claimed by definitions of single or taken!"

Sure enough, Yu was wearing his glasses and his sword was by his side. Hyde and Sun had no idea why he got so dramatic when he was any kind of drunk, but it was quite intimidating. And certainly made them question their masculinity.

"My romantic inclinations are in a state of questioning," Yu said. "And I cannot allow myself to be claimed by any maiden at this current state of time."

Hyde gestured towards Weiss. "Even when that causes the girl you are questioning your infatuations with to become so depressed?"

Yu blinked, before looking back at Weiss. "Goddammit, you're right," Yu said.

"You're such an idiot sometimes! You know that?" Hyde asked.

"Don't make me cut you," Yu said, gesturing at Hyde with his sword.

"Just go help her stop crying," Sun said, waving his hand at her.

"Okay," Yu replied. He slid over towards Weiss, tapping on the table to get her attention. "My fair Schnee," he said. "I apologize for making you feel so miserable."

Next thing that anyone knew was there was a white blur that shot up and smacked Yu so hard he crumpled on top of a sofa! "You damn well better be you disgusting waste of space!"

"Well that escalated damn quickly!" Sun said.

"Whoo!" Yang said. "Get him sister!"

"You're enjoying this far too much!" Hyde said.

Yu recovered by rubbing his face, before Weiss grabbed him by the collar, picking him up off the couch and pulling his face up to hers. "After all the seductive tactics you've used against me," she said, "you have the gaul to tell me you're taken? Are you begging for me to summon a Grimm and have them play tug of war with your entrails?"

"Well," Yu replied, "to be completely honest, I was actually saying that for the sake of being able to potentially get in a relationship? I needed to be left anonymous for the sake of understanding my own romantic inclinations."

"No level of vocabulary is going to save you from the pain that will be necessary for me to even think about forgiving you," Weiss said.

"If it's any consolation," Yu said, "I find this powerful state you are in quite attractive."

Weiss seemed to soften her glare as she lay her head against his chest. "Why do you have to be so strikingly handsome?" she asked.

"It's talent," Yu replied. "Pure talent."

They both collapsed to the couch, the girls that had once been weeping with Weiss clapping in delight!

Hyde let out a dramatic sigh. "At least they're managing to solve these problems by themselves," he said.

"Yeah," Sun said. "Glad that we don't have to play mediator with any of these guys."

Ruby began crying once again, throwing herself at Hyde... again. "My BFFs are coming together! I'm so happy!" she cried.

"Hey, wait a second,." Yang said. "Where did Seth go?"

The others looked, before finding Seth had decided to give up trying to pay attention and had curled himself up on top of the desk. "Well," Sun said, "at least he's staying out of trouble."

"Hyde," a voice said, causing the In-Birth in question to jump in surprise, finding Vatista standing right next to him.

"O-oh, Vatista," Hyde said. "Uh... can I help you?"

"No," Vatista said, "but I was hoping to have helped you by placing most of the inebriated individuals to different rooms for their own safety."

"Really?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah," Yang said. "She wanted to help out, so I told her she could do that."

"So you were actually helping," Sun said.

"Yup," Yang said.

"Glad to see you're at least being somewhat helpful," Hyde said.

"I took Mai, Noel, Heart, Yukiko, and Chie and moved them aside," Vatista said, "after they created a very lethal supply of antimatter in the kitchen area."

"Wait a second!" Hyde said. "They were cooking while drunk?"

"Not at all," Vatista said. "They were not inebriated in the slightest, but I chose to move them aside once they were finished, in order to move them away from the local populace."

"Good idea," Sun said, recalling the terrible creations they could make.

"Okay, with that done," Hyde said, holding up a sleeping Ruby in his arms, the Rose Red having passed out forever ago, "let's see if we can finish things up here. I have found myself getting really tired of all this and just want to rest."

* * *

/Now:/

* * *

"From there," Sun finished explaining, "we just about gathered up everyone else and put them all to bed. Hyde took Ruby while Yang, Vatista and I did our best to ensure nobody would end up hurting themselves."

"W-well..." Shirogane said, drinking her coffee while massaging her brow to stave off a growing headache. She and the others were now sitting around the living room table, drinking coffee to fight off their hangovers, with Akatsuki standing dutifully nearby. "That is remarkably responsible of you, Sun-senpai," Shirogane said.

"Hey," Sun said, "while I might look and act pretty irresponsible, I actually can be pretty level-headed when I want to."

"A-and how did you end up staying in the same room as I?" Shirogane asked.

"You ended up getting so drunk you were attempting to 'interrogate' a sleeping Carmine when you thought he stole your gun... which you were still holding," Sun replied, which only caused the Detective Prince even more embarrassment.

"And if you were moving all of us to different rooms," Kurogane said, "why did Yumi, Carmine, Lilica, Kanji, and I all end up asleep in the living room?"

"We ended up getting too exhausted to bother with everyone," Sun said. "You realize how difficult it was to restrain Shirogane alone, right?"

"We can imagine," Kanji and Kurogane said.

"Yeah," Sun said. "So, we couldn't grab everybody. So sue us."

"At least we know who to blame for getting drunk," Yumi said. "So when I get my hands on Shiki I will ensure that she is fiercely disciplined."

"Good luck with that," Sun said. "By the by Kurogane, here's your phone."

"Oh, thanks," Naoto said. "I was wondering where that went."

He began going through his messages, sure enough, coming upon those that were from his chat room discussing the party from the night prior. No pictures were taken that would have lead to any clues, the ones taken just being blurs and smudges as they must have been taken during when it was in his pocket or pressed against an object or finger. "Wait, why did you have this?" he asked.

"Lilica tried to eat it," Sun replied.

Before anyone could ask, that moment, the leader of the Crimson Squad also came into the room, Homura walking awkwardly inside looking for a coffee. "Sweet merciful crap," she said. "My head is killing me."

"Well, the first one awakens," Kurogane observed. "Hey Homura, have you found Haruka by any chance?"

"Say what?" Homura asked. "Oh, yeah. She's in my room."

"Good to know," Kurogane said.

As the group slowly continued reassembling themselves, fighting off their hangovers, Carmine eventually found the strength to leave, vowing to never get wrapped up into the group's shenanigans again. Sun eventually found his teammates and aided them in waking up, with Kanji opting to take a shower to remove the marker that was still on his face, which he only later discovered was made by Lilica.

Ragna and Mitsuru eventually emerged from the rooms, both looking exhausted.

"Hey you two," Kurogane said. "How're you feeling?"

"Lousy," Ragna replied, grabbing himself some coffee.

"I... apologize for anything I may have done last night," Mitsuru said.

"Don't... don't worry about it," Kurogane said. "It wasn't your fault."

"Who the hell got us drunk last night?" Ragna asked.

"That would be Haruka and Shiki," Kurogane replied.

"And where are they?" Ragna asked.

"Ragna," Mitsuru said firmly. "Don't even think about hurting them."

"I'm not planning on it," Ragna said. "Just scare the living animal Jesus out of them to the point they never even consider doing anything like that again lest I rain down the fires of Hell on top of them! And - Oh God! My head. Anger did not help my case at all!" he said this as he crumpled to his knees.

A few more minutes went by, as more and more people slowly emerged, each and every one of them rubbing their aching heads. Slowly but surely, everyone was figuring out the situation that had befallen them last night, before groups began to disperse. Team JNPR and Team SSSN and the Hanzo girls + Daidoji returned to their respective schools, Noel, Mai, and Celica (upon safely separating themselves from their room) returned back to their agency to report in.

Kurogane stuck around to see the situation through to the end, with Yumi waiting up for the Gessen girls to get themselves back together, so she may punish Shiki obviously, with Homura doing the same with Haruka.

"You know," Yumi said, rubbing her chin. "I was wondering something."

"What's that?" Kurogane asked.

"There appears to be a few missing," Yumi said. "Like, where is Weiß? Or Scharlachrot for that matter?"

"I can explain," Vatista replied, emerging directly behind Kurogane and Yumi, scaring the crap out of them!

"Why the hell does she keep doing that!?" Seth said, speaking up for the first time in what must've been an hour!

"Yukari took Weiß and Scharlachrot back to the Celestial Union," Vatista replied, "relatively early into when everyone else began to get inebriated, for fear of what might happen if Scharlachrot got drunk herself. Yang took Akihiko away at approximately 2:00 AM after he finally succumbed to his own inebriation. And Hyde took Ruby Rose to the roof."

"Oh, well that doesn't sound-?" Kurogane began, before cutting himself off. "Wait, the roof?"

"Correct," Vatista said.

"Why did he take her to the roof?" Yumi asked.

"I believe," Vatista said, "Hyde said something along the lines of 'stargazing'."

Kurogane and Yumi looked to one another, before another realization befell them. "Wait," Kurogane said, "what about Yosuke and Makoto?"

"They were not present last night," Vatista said.

Yumi and Kurogane raised a brow. "What?" they asked.

"Correct," Vatista replied. "Yosuke Hanamura and Makoto Nanaya were not present at the party last night. They merely showed up for the first twenty minutes, before leaving."

Kurogane and Yumi looked to one another with wide-eyes and baffled looks. Where the heck did they go?

Eventually, Shiki and Haruka were brought before the group with their heads hung low.

"We're sorry," they said. "Please forgive us."

"I've half a mind to beat you both senseless with my blood arm!" Naoto said in irritation.

"Don't you worry," Mitsuru said. "I can assure you that these two will be sufficiently punished for this incident."

"Hey! Who gave you the right to punish us!?" Haruka said. Mitsuru gave Haruka a skeptical look, with the power that radiated off of her enough to have her hold her tongue.

"As punishment for drugging us all," Mitsuru said, "I will expect the both of you to clean at least a good majority of the Kirijo Group's private jets."

"Most of them!?" Haruka and Shiki said. "How many of them are there!?"

"At least twenty," Mitsuru said. "Of the ones I expect you to clean."

The girls hung their heads in shame again, knowing full well that nothing they said could be enough to stop this punishment coming. And so, the two shinobi spent the entire day and most of the night cleaning the jets that Mitsuru laid out for them. And as a result, they knew from then on to never try to mess with the group in such a way with Mitsuru around.

* * *

**Yellow Epilogue:**

* * *

Earlier that morning, at 2:00 AM according to Vatista, Yang found herself walking Akihiko back home, with the Hungry Wolf leaning against her as a base. She had initially wanted to throw him into a dorm room like everyone else, but he was very very adamant in his drunken state that he would prefer being put back in his dojo. So, Yang thought it was only right to oblige.

Yang honestly didn't mind. She was more than happy to help the guy she liked. And being there as a level for him was something she honestly didn't mind.

"Y'know Aki," she said, "I'm all for wanting to get back to training as soon as you can, but don't you think it'd be alright just to rest for the night? I mean, come on, it's New Year's."

"Nah..." Akihiko said. "I'm gonna train quick as I can... I'm not gonna be weak... I'm never gonna be powerless again."

Yang smirked. "I know how that feels," she said. "And I can respect it. Say, tell you what? How about I stick around and train with you in the morning?"

"Heh," Akihiko laughed. "I can always rely on you to train, huh Yang?"

"Yeah," Yang shrugged. "Sure enough."

"We'll be there for each other. We can trust each other to be there to help ourselves become stronger."

* * *

**Red Epilogue:**

* * *

Seeking shelter from the storm downstairs, Hyde chose to take Ruby up to the roof and monitor her until she fell asleep. Trying to do so was like expecting a peppy dog to stay still. But, eventually she relented.

She found herself laying against Hyde's chest as he sat against the wall to the entryway back downstairs as she continued to rest.

"Hyde," she said, "thank you for being there for me. You're always protecting me."

Hyde raised a brow. "I don't recall anytime I have ever protected you," he said.

"Yeah you have~" Ruby replied. "Like when Yosuke and Chie were bullying me."

"I thought we established that they were actually trying to hurt you," Hyde said.

"I know," Ruby said. "But I still like that you helped me."

Hyde rolled his eyes, looking at the stars with Ruby in his arms.

"Hyde..." Ruby muttered, sound as if she were falling asleep.

"Yeah," Hyde said. "I'm here."

"When I'm with you... I feel safe..." Ruby said.

"I'm happy to hear that," Hyde said.

"But I want... to protect... you..." Ruby said.

"Maybe one day you will," Hyde said.

* * *

**Black Epilogue:**

* * *

"Ugh, lord almighty," Blake cursed.

"You gonna be alright there?" Sun asked.

"Fine," Blake said. "I'll be fine. Just bitter that I don't get the chance to get my hands on Shiki or Haruka for putting me through that indignity."

"Ah, whatever," Sun said. "They were just messing around."

"Really?" Blake asked.

"Hey, don't blame me," Sun said.

Blake rolled her eyes. She was walking down the streets of Vale with Sun by her side, well after he had initially left with the rest of his team.

"You know Sun," she said, "I'm surprised that you came all the way back to Iwatodai Dorm to walk me back."

"Hey, I felt like it," Sun shrugged.

Blake raised a brow and gave a smirk at him. "I'm surprised to find you acting so gentlemanly," she said.

"Hey! I can be a gentleman," Sun said.

"I know you can," Blake said. "You more than proved that at the dance."

Sun smiled proudly, as he continued to walk. As they did, however, Blake suddenly stopped dead in her tracks. Sun looked at her, catching a light twitch in her bow as her ears seemed to be picking up on something. She then pulled out Gambol Shroud in its ribbon-gun form, throwing it into a tree and pulling Seth tumbling out!

"Seriously dude?" Sun asked. "How many times are you going to be doing that?"

Seth pushed himself back up, caught in Blake's weapon, as he caught the black haired faunus looking intently at him. "Why were you following us?" she asked.

Seth found himself biting his tongue, a light blush coating his features. How in the world was he supposed to have the stomach to tell her that he wanted to make sure she was safe getting back home? Doing that would practically be admitting his shameful infatuation with her.

"Just... doing more research," he said firmly. "It's none of your concern."

Blake clearly looked unsatisfied with that response. "Well if you're going to come this far," she said, pulling Gambol Shroud back together, "you might as well come with us the rest of the way. And maybe I'll consider letting you go afterwards without having you do any more as punishment."

Seth merely gave a sigh, knowing better than to question the Black Shadow Cat while she was in this state. Sun caught his exhausted look, smiling smugly at it. He through an arm over Seth's shoulder as they walked dutifully behind her.

"Don't you worry man," he said. "I've been there."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Seth said.

"Sure thing bud," Sun said. "But give it time. You and me hangin' out a bit, I think we'll begin to see eye to eye."

"Don't hold your breath," Seth said.

"Both of you hurry up!" Blake called over her shoulder.

"Yes ma'am," both boys said.

* * *

**White Epilogue:**

* * *

Weiss and Yu were waiting in the dorm, still recovering from the night before. Neither one of them said a word as they enjoyed their coffee and fought off their agonizing hangovers, neither one of them determined to leave the building for the majority of the day.

"We never speak of what occurred this night," Weiss said.

"Whatever you say, Miss Schnee," Yu replied.

"That's what I thought," Weiss said firmly.

* * *

_**A/N: And so, after a week of development (minus two days where I physically could not write anything because of work) we have the second part to our New Year's Day celebration! And it has become one of the longest chapters I have ever written!**_

_**I'll admit, this chapter has totally exhausted me. The ending just kinda fell apart on me, but I hope it's at least somewhat enjoyable. Everything past the explanation for what happened was just a whole lot of "aw crap! Now I gotta wrap this thing up!" Still, I liked what I included, including the hints for Makoto and Yosuke (don't you worry now, they'll have their long time again!). And some epilogues to give myself a pat on the back for setting up Team RWBY's pairings, which I'd been working on for far too long with this.**_

_**I have enjoyed quite a bit of writing for this thing. Coming up with a lot of the different situations for the characters was just so funny to me. Figuring out what may have happened to each different character was enough to put a goofy smile on my face each and every time. I was really happy with some of the drunken fits that I got to show in this, and I hope you enjoyed it too.**_

_**As per usual, I feel like there was more I could have done, but I got really tired. In short, I hope that this was worth the wait.**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To SolarS: I feel like the least that is said about the RWBY ships is for the best, and I was hoping that Seth's crush on Blake would be enjoyable, and I am determined to tease him with it further. Also, don't go asking me about Touhou Project as I am no better about remembering names from that either.**_

_**To Mystech Master: I feel like that using RWBY to give the finger to Japanese sexism is a terrific idea and I will pocket that one, and trust me, Valentine's is gonna be a minefield, so the amount of information you gave me has certainly helped immensely already. Also, all your other suggestions are great too.**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Glad to have your feedback, and that idea actually seems somewhat interesting. I have been intending to go back and do a follow-up chapter with Ruby hanging out with Hazama, and I figure that idea would slip seamlessly into it. I can totally imagine Jaune, Hyde, and Yu going into full-blown anal rage over the idea of Adachi hitting on our precious baby girls, so thanks a million for that one! XD**_

_**To Neptunia56: At this rate, I think it'd be impossible for me to pull in P4 Dancing All Night at one point, so I will totally do something like that in the near future, don't you worry! **_

_**To Naoto Redgrave: It's always real in Cross Tag Character Collision! (In all seriousness, thanks for the comment.)**_

_**To Kamencolin: We didn't go full Hangover territory, and it's a good thing we had some sober guides keeping these guys from unleashing full blown chaos.**_

_**And to the guest who commented, yes please watch Hangover, but it's not safe for kids. Just be aware.**_

**_To Will DeGrave: Well, Naoto's phone didn't really have that much importance in it after all. Really, the most that it would have done was just explain why everyone was there in the first place, which as I discovered would have been explained by Sun anyway, so it was basically redundant by that point. And yes, I do keep a list of all suggestions I get! Or, most of them at least. (And if you mean for me to draw artwork for it, I am an abysmal artist as I am now, so I unfortunately cannot do that. But I would positively adore it if anybody could do artwork for things like the Halloween costumes from that chapter, or certain character interactions! That would literally make me the happiest person in the world!)_**

**_And to the guest that suggested Katsuragi teach Penny and Lambda: Yes. I could totally picture her and Kagura teaching some of the most innocent characters sex ed! XD_**

**_Anyway, thanks as always for reading! Let me know your thoughts! And have a fantastic evening! I'll see you all next time!_**


	38. Flashback

A/N: Howdy readers! The Viewer-X here!

... Yeah, I know, I suck okay? But, hey, in my defense my next semester of school started last week and I had to adjust to a new schedule! And the past few days were also busy since I had to go shopping one day, and then I was kept up until, like, three in the morning and barely got over five hours of sleep! So I'm kinda sleepy!

Alright, in all fairness, this was a brain child that came the deuce out of nowhere, and since I wanted to write _**something **_for you guys because I felt so freaking bad that I have not written anything in nearly two weeks, I figured I might as well post this one up right now!XD

With that said, thank you for your patience. I sincerely apologize, but work should hopefully be a lot faster in the next coming weeks. To give you guys a heads up, the next chapter will be a Peach Beach Splash based chapter, thanks to the number of requests I had received asking for it! So you can rest easy and anticipate that next.

With that all out of the way, please enjoy this - spontaneous - Chapter of Cross Tag Character Collision.

* * *

Ragna the Bloodedge couldn't help but rub his eyes in pure, unbridled rage and annoyance. He wasn't particularly known well for his patience, yet in this case he was at least trying to keep it all bottled up. Particularly because... well, he knew it wasn't from a directly malicious place. More accurately, a monumentally stupid place. Which, in all fairness, was something he'd grown used to after the Phantom Field incident.

To backtrack a bit, it first began earlier that day when Ragna came across Kokonoe's lab upon hearing that Akatsuki had gone there with the desire to do more... science, or something, Ragna really couldn't be bothered. After the debacle that happened last time with all the body swapping, Ragna was not going to let something like that happen under any circumstances. At least not without proper supervision.

"Did you learn nothing from last time?" Ragna asked Akatsuki.

"Actually I learned quite a lot," Akatsuki replied. "The data that Miss Kokonoe gathered was quite informa-"

"I meant," Ragna snapped, "did you not learn anything about what kind of damage could be done if you allow this kid to run rampant!?"

Akatsuki deflated. "I... I know," he said. "But I can't deny, what she is capable of is quite intriguing."

"Akatsuki," Ragna said sternly, "I definitely should not be the person to tell you this, but I think you need more friends. That way you won't feel obligated to do this every day."

His eyes drifted over to the console where Kokonoe was already typing away and doing any number of bizarre things that went right over the Bloodedge's head. "So what the fuck are you doing now?" Ragna asked. "You know, to bring down the foundations of the collective sanity of myself and the innocent people and creatures you will undoubtedly drag into this?"

"If you must know," Kokonoe replied, "I was going to do some experimentation on these Dust crystals from that Remnant planet. They strikingly remind me of many of the similar crystals on our own world, like the Phantom Field crystals. Due to their own capacities capable of altering fundamental laws of nature, albeit on a smaller scale, I wanted to see if it would be possible to 'supercharge' them, in a manner of speaking."

"Fascinating," Akatsuki said, rubbing his chin.

"Oh hell no!" Ragna yelled. "If half of what that Ice Queen has told me about those things is to be believed, they cannot be allowed anywhere near you for as long as I can allow it! Back the fuck up and put them away!"

"I think not," Kokonoe said, attempting to hold Ragna back with one hand as he tried to reach across the console!

"Ragna, this is unnecessary," Akatsuki said, attempting to calmly hold Ragna back. But the Bloodedge was certainly not going to have that, as he instinctually shoved Akatsuki back.

"I'm telling you kid," Ragna said. "Don't make me do something we're all going to regret!"

"Like what?" Kokonoe asked.

"You challenged me," Ragna said, grabbing his sword. "You made me do this!"

"Ragna no!" Akatsuki said, leaping for the sword! Ragna slammed the blade on top of the console, with Akatsuki holding onto the blade as it connected! The Dust crystals that were sitting on top already fell over, as the monitor began to glitch out!

And then... things happened. That's the best way that could be described.

Akatsuki's body was sparking as he attempted to use his Blitz Motor so as to hold Ragna's sword from breaking the console, which it did, but not for the best. Sparks connected with the Dust, as the crystals began to glow and shine! A chain reaction of energy blew through Kokonoe's lab, as a white light occurred!

"Oh... shit..." Ragna said.

"Everyone get back!" Kokonoe yelled, but it was too late! An explosion occured, slamming Kokonoe against the far wall! When she was able to reorient herself, she saw that most of her equipment had exploded... and Ragna and Akatsuki were gone.

The demi-human's heart sank as she knew full well what must have happened. It wasn't just that Akatsuki's Blitz Motor reacted with the Dust and her equipment, creating a simple explosion. There was something else that was there at the heart of the incident.

A Memory Fragment. A crystallized manifestation of a person's memory created in the Phantom Field. It was to be used as a base for Kokonoe to analyze in her experiments. It must have reacted to Ragna and Akatsuki as well, throwing them to parts unknown... And Kokonoe had no idea where they must have ended up.

* * *

So now, Ragna was angered beyond compare. He wasn't just blaming Akatsuki for what happened, although a part of himself did hold Akatsuki at least partially responsible for... whatever it was that happened, as he didn't know about the Memory Fragment. But he was also blaming himself for not handling the situation as well as he could have.

In the end, Ragna was keeping his temper in check, before taking a breath. "Okay..." he said. "I don't suppose you have any trucking idea where we ended up, do you?"

"I do not," Akatsuki replied. "I have spent much of my time since the Phantom Field incident studying the different worlds, yet I do not recognize aspects of this place just from a cursory glance."

Ragna had to admit, there was no clear indicators for where they were at the moment. They were in a forest, plain and simple. Although, a strange fact about this forest was the fact that the leaves looked like they belonged in Autumn, despite the fact that it was not even Spring by the time Ragna and Akatsuki had been in Kokonoe's lab.

From the back of Akatsuki's mind, he recalled a place in Remnant called "Forever Fall," where the leaves were caught in a perpetual Autumn aesthetic and behavior. Perhaps they were in that place? It was hard to tell.

"It would be best," Akatsuki said, "that we investigate and find somebody to question."

"Whatever you say," Ragna replied. "All I know is that I'm tired and need a damn nap."

"When we find somebody to tell us our location," Akatsuki replied, "we can find a place to rest. I myself could require something to eat."

"I didn't..." Ragna said. "Do you seriously take everything literally?"

"Being a soldier," Akatsuki replied, "I have been told that sarcasm is oft lost on me."

"Riveting," Ragna replied.

For the next few minutes, the Thunder God and Grim Reaper just walked for several minutes in silence. The pathway was fairly overrun by leaves, making it somewhat difficult to locate where they were supposed to go for any chance of finding civilization. _Somebody should clean these leaves, _Akatsuki observed. _It would make it easier to find your way in the event you get lost._

His thoughts were cut off, however, as Akatsuki heard a sound from nearby. A growling sound off the beaten path. A strange creature must have been watching them.

Akatsuki's fist clenched, as he lifted his arms to enter a combat stance. Next thing he knew, a Griffon type Grimm launched itself from the woods right towards him! Akatsuki bent down to enter a roundhouse kick to knock the creature down, only for Ragna to launch himself over Akatsuki's head and butchered the enemy in one fell swoop, two halves of the Griffon falling down beside Akatsuki, the body beginning to dissolve!

Ragna sheathed Blood Scythe back on his back, before shooting Akatsuki an honest to goodness grin. Akatsuki returned the grin, lowering his defense. "I could've handled it," he said in a shrug.

"You're welcome," Ragna replied.

Turns out, however, that one Griffon was just the precursor to dozens of more that appeared around the duo. Akatsuki resumed his fighting stance as Ragna held Blood Scythe in hand. From a cursory scan, Akatsuki confirmed there must've been about twenty-eight in total.

"On the bright side," Akatsuki said, "at least this confirms my suspicion that we are in fact on Remnant."

"Fucking brilliant," Ragna said. "Now shut up and fight."

The two dispersed, each charging for a different amount of Grimm! Ragna was able to take them all down with minimal effort whatsoever! Each time a Griffon got close to him, he just broke them to pieces with nearly a single slash from Blood Scythe each time! He barely even needed to pump any of his Grimoire into his strikes!

Akatsuki had a bit more effort than Ragna, but he was still able to protect himself! He would deliver powerful strikes from his fists, before finishing each Griffon off with rapid kicks that blew the Griffons into the air! With his Blitz Motor, he was able to pump electricity into the Grimm as he struck them, snapping the Griffons' body parts at unnatural angles as he kicked them around!

From his studies, Akatsuki had no indication that Grimm had any bones to break, or hearts to stop, but that changed nothing. The strikes were enough to break _something _inside the Grimm and knock them apart! Hell, on a few occasions, he actually struck hard enough to imbed his feet inside a Griffon's body on one or two occasions!

Suffice is to say, the Grimm began dropping like flies. What started as twenty-eight soon began to drop to twenty - sixteen - twelve - nine - four.

Eventually, Ragna and Akatsuki returned back to back as the remaining Griffons circled them by hovering low in the air, circling the two. It seemed these Grimm had enough intelligence to know that these two were not to be trifled with, and were rethinking their "strategy."

Our duo was about ready to butcher these Grimm like the rest... until a white blur shot in! To both Ragna and Akatsuki's surprise, the four remaining Griffons were cut down one by one by a white blur, their lifeless bodies dropping to the ground and beginning to dissolve! Before Ragna could even question what exactly it was, he saw something that was hovering in the air that caught his eye; white rose petals that floated in the path that the blur had shot through.

"Wait a minute?" Ragna asked, grabbing for one petal before it dissolved. "Rose petals...?"

Both he and Akatsuki turned around, where the blur had come to a stop. To their surprise, they saw a white cloak knelt on the ground, before they stood up and revealed what looked almost exactly like Ruby, but her dress did not bear much of the red that she normally wore, in addition to her dress now being an overbust that exposed her cleavage, and her corset having white interior as opposed to red, and white frills underneath her skirt. The biggest difference however was her hair, which was about shoulder length, which was only partially obscured her white hood she kept on her head. This stuck out the most since Ruby hated long hair with a fiery passion!

"Ruby...?" Akatsuki asked, approaching her.

"Oh my, are you two okay?" 'Ruby' asked, jumping over to Akatsuki, getting quite close to his face, even getting on her tippy toes to look him in the eye. "What are you two doing so deep in the woods? From seeing your fight on my way here you both look like Huntsmen, but you should've known better to get this far out here! This is where most Grimm nests are found! What're you doing?"

She actually knocked on Akatsuki's forehead, before her attention fell onto Ragna. "So what're you two doing out here?" she asked. "You don't strike me as coming from Beacon. Namely because I haven't seen you before. So, what's the story?"

Ragna blinked a few times as he found himself thrown by this girl. This girl was acting almost like if Ruby fused with Nora. Ruby was fairly shy and awkward upon first meeting people, whereas this girl was energized and talkative.

So the easiest thing that Ragna could attest was, despite visual similarities, this girl was not Ruby.

"Uh..." Ragna said. "We got turned around. Sorry. We're here from, uh... a transfer. And we got turned around."

The girl raised a brow as she looked skeptically at Ragna. It was a BS excuse, that much was clear, but Ragna couldn't think of what else to say since he had no idea who he was looking at. But, the girl gave a shrug. "Okay," she said. "Whatever you say."

"All the same, that fighting was awesome! You reminded me a lot of my teammate Qrow. Except, not only did you look a bit stronger but, and don't tell him I told you this, you're _way _more coordinated than he is. Oh, I know he means well, but he's about as majestic as a Beringel."

"S-sure," Ragna said, still feeling somewhat uncomfortable.

"So!" the girl said. "My name is Summer! Summer Rose! What's yours?"

"Uh, Ragna," Ragna replied. The girl, Summer, still looked at him expectantly, nodding slowly. It took Ragna a second to figure out she was waiting for a last name. Of which, Ragna had none that he used. _Fuck, _he thought.

Recalling the person who brought him here, Ragna finally said, "Ragna Mercury."

* * *

Meanwhile, as she continued to desperately repair her devices and see if she could find Ragna and Akatsuki, she let loose a sneeze! "Damn smoke getting in my nose!" she cursed.

* * *

"Nice!" Summer said. "Sounds cool. And you?" she asked Akatsuki, who'd been looking at Summer with the most befuddled expression on his face the entire time.

"U-uh," he said. "My name is Akatsuki." Much like Ragna, Summer nodded and waited for a last name, causing Akatsuki to sweatdrop awkwardly. "Uh... A-Akatsuki... Eltnum."

* * *

Meanwhile, a partial vampire sensed what had just happened in the plot. "Seriously?" she wondered. "You couldn't have thought of anything else, Senpai? Eh, I don't mind."

Sitting next to her, Coco raised an eyebrow as she looked around for what Eltnum was talking to. "W-what're you-?"

* * *

"Ooh~" Summer said. "Exotic. So, you said you were transferred? Were you, by chance, headed to Beacon?"

"Well," Ragna replied, "yes that is the case. You said you're from there, yourself?"

"Sure!" Summer replied. "If you want, I can take you there!"

"If you could," Akatsuki, "that would be very much appreciated."

"Sure thing!" Summer said. "But not so fast. For now, I want to learn more about you both."

"Huh?" Ragna asked.

"I want you both to tell me about you two," Summer said, offering a wink. "I mean, it would be fairly wrong of me to just bring two complete strangers over to my school without at least knowing more about where they came from and what they really want~"

_Shit. She's good_, Ragna thought. _If she really were like Ruby she wouldn't have caught onto that. Or at least been brave enough to ask._

"I am from Atlas," Akatsuki replied. "I was working as a senior from Atlas Academy. Mr. Mercury here was a Huntsman originating from Vacuo who had been working in Atlas for the past two years ago on a bounty mission of which my team and I had been investigating. You could almost think of it as a 'internship' from my angle. We chose to come to Beacon for assistance in part of an experiment."

Summer looked impressed, whilst Ragna let his jaw hit the floor! It took a moment, but Akatsuki caught on to the idea of hiding his identity, though he still didn't know why. All the same, he chose to role with it, and had spent the past minute or so establishing a solid made-up backstory for himself and Ragna for the time when somebody had asked. Which was thankfully not hard considering the fact that he had spent a good amount of time travelling across Remnant and studying their history.

"I see," Summer said, rubbing her chin.

"Is there anything else you would like to ask?" Akatsuki asked.

"What is this 'experiment' you mentioned?" Summer asked, thought not in a scrutinizing manner. More like a legitimately curious one.

"Transportation," Akatsuki replied. "We were looking for Dust to create a new means of instantaneous transport, but we ended up losing our supply. We were hoping that Ozpin would be able to help us in continuing our mission."

"Oh, I get it," Summer said.

"Anything else?" Akatsuki asked.

"Nothing that matters right now," Summer replied with a shrug. "Although I would like to learn about your Semblance and weapons later. Just outta curiosity."

"Fair enough," Akatsuki said with a smirk. "But if you don't mind, Miss Rose, I would like to ask you something in return."

"Shoot," Summer said happily.

"You seem to resemble somebody we know," Akatsuki said, rubbing his chin. "Tell me, are you perchance-?"

"Akatsuki!" Ragna said firmly. "I - ahem! - I know what you mean, but let me tell you it's just a coincidence. So there's no reason to bother asking!"

"But she's-" Akatsuki began, but Ragna cut him off again!

"Believe me!" Ragna said. "It's _just _a coincidence! So don't bother Summer and go prying!"

Summer looked confused, but shrugged it off for the time being. "If you say so," she said. "So! Want me to take you to Beacon?"

"If you could," Ragna nodded. "I need a freaking nap."

Summer giggled. "Sure thing," she said, gesturing for the two to follow.

Akatsuki kept pace with Ragna as the two walked along behind Summer.

"Ragna," Akatsuki said, "what's going on? You didn't even let me ask her about-"

"I know what you were asking," Ragna said. "And I know who she is. She's Ruby's mother."

"Really?" Akatsuki asked, looking back at the white hooded woman. "I see. Yes, that would make sense. But she looks so young."

"It's because she is," Ragna replied. "I can tell. She's too young to have given birth to Ruby by this point. We have to be back in time or something."

Ragna felt a tug at his gut as he continued to look at her skipping along in front of them. She was so full of life. It was definitely not an illusion or some imposter, Ragna could tell.

She was real. She was alive. But that shouldn't have been possible.

"Summer Rose," he said. "This can't be our time, we have to be in the past. Because she's..."

Before Ragna could finish, the light from the sun seemed to get far too bright for the two to take! The world itself around them seemed to be collapsing in the white light! The last thing that Ragna saw before he completely suffered from white out, was Summer's face turning curiously back at them.

* * *

Ragna landed face first on the cold, steel ground of Kokonoe's lab! Akatsuki collapsed beside him, as they both felt as if the muscles of their body were burning! The two pushed themselves up off the ground, as Kokonoe let out a massive, exhausted sigh! "Thank Amaterasu!" she said.

"Wha... what the fuck happened?" Ragna asked.

"I was able to ascertain a signal from the Memory Fragment that caused you both to disappear," Kokonoe said. "All I had to do was reverse the polarity to bring you back."

"A... Memory Fragment?" Akatsuki asked.

"Yes," Kokonoe replied. "The Fragment was part of that chain reaction that happened back there that caused you both to disappear. That was what caused you both to vanish in the first place."

"... Memory Fragment," Ragna said. "So that's what it was." Akatsuki looked to Ragna as he seemed to be musing over these things.

"Ragna," he said. "What were you going to say back there?"

Ragna looked to Akatsuki, unable to bring himself to say anything. Whether or not they had really gone back in time, or were in some artificial recreation in the Phantom Field created by the Memory Fragment, either way, Ragna didn't find it right to tell him the truth. It was not his place.

"Don't worry about it," he said. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is we're back and that whole ordeal is all over."

"And for another thing!" he said, standing back up. "This is exactly why I was telling you that playing science games with this kid is a recipe for disaster!"

"Fair enough," Akatsuki said, rubbing his head.

"Which reminds me," Kokonoe said, pulling out her phone. "I should proably tell the others that you're back."

"The others?" Ragna asked.

"Yes," Kokonoe replied. "I had enough sense to tell a good number of others about what happened to you and that I was working to bring you back. Most of them are waiting in the lobby right now."

"And according to what I've heard, one of them in particular is losing her marbles over you."

Ragna raised a brow, wondering exactly who she was referring to.

* * *

Ruby Rose was running around in a panicked circle, losing her freaking mind over the concern of what may have happened to Ragna! Sitting in a bench right next to her circle of fear were Hyde, Yumi, and Heart, with Hyde holding his face in his hands as Yumi and Heart watched Ruby freak out with wide eyes.

"And there's no way of contacting them!?" Ruby said. "And we have no idea where they went or if they're even okay!"

"Ruby I think that-" Hyde began, only to find Ruby continue panicking, not listening to a word he said. "Why do I bother?" he added, putting his head back in his hands.

Meanwhile, Yu was doing his best to soothe an equally angry as Ruby was panicked Mitsuru Kirijo, as her arms were firmly crossed and she was positively vibrating in rage. "If that brat doesn't bring Ragna back safe and sound," Mitsuru said, "I swear, there will be no end to the torment that she will be subjected to..."

Well, thankfully he did get back safely. Otherwise the rating would have jumped to M.

* * *

_**A/N: And here we are folks!**_

_**This story just kinda popped into my head and I wrote it up in one day as something just to give you guys something else to tide you over until I could finish my next "True" chapter of the story. I will admit though, I did click with this idea the more that I wrote, even having to chop a bit more things down like the inclusion of the rest of Team STRQ, and I would certainly be ready to make a full, multi-chapter "book" out of this in the future.**_

_**I came across this upon going back and looking over Team STRQ related stuff, and I can tell you outright, I am a sucker for STRQ shenanigans. While I headcanon the idea that RWBY are the biggest group of lovable morons that Beacon Academy has seen in a long time, but there's something about the novelty of having a team staring Ruby and Yang's parents and uncle that I can't get over.**_

_**And, yeah, I was going to tie Summer Rose in this eventually, I think we all knew that. Not in this exact manner, obviously, but we all knew that Mama Rose was gonna get tied in this eventually. Just so we're clear, my headcanon personality for Summer is like Ruby, which I am sure we all agree with, but a bit more extroverted where Ruby is introverted. Ergo, kinda like a hybrid of Ruby with some aspects of Nora. I dunno, I just always loved the idea of Summer being this open and energized person 24/7 to play off of people like Raven and Qrow.**_

_**So yeah, expect in the future one of the first "spin-off novels" of Cross Tag Character Collision featuring Ragna and Akatsuki back in time with Team STRQ!**_

_**And yes, as I mentioned before, my next "True" chapter will be based on the SK game Peach Beach Splash, so you can expect that soon I swear! Again, with my new schedule having been assimilated, I can write more I swear!**_

_**And finally, a new announcement I wanted to make that I have thought of is a Q&A! Yeah, considering I have a lot of ideas in terms of character interactions and character relationships, I wanted to just make the option open for you guys to ask questions if you want to for specific characters, and I can dedicate some chapters or even a separate page to each character answering your guys's questions! Leave me suggestions on whether or not you guys like the idea of having a Q&A chapter/fic, and some questions if you would like. It could be questions for anybody, the main characters, supporting characters, from whatever series and what have you! I at least like to think I know enough to answer your guys's questions, and there should be no issue in regards to if they're related purely to the story itself, which I am already anticipating. (And if you guys want to ask about what happened to Yosuke and Makoto on New Year's, don't worry all will be revealed~)**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To Neptunia56: I totally agree that Nanako visiting the other worlds would be amazing, and can totally picture characters like Blake, Akatsuki, and "big sis" Weiss dotting over her the whole time!**_

_**To SolarS: Yeah, I think I mentioned in the chapter itself that I was half-expecting to write it longer, but I did what I literally was capable of doing. Also, I'm so sorry about Weiss and Yu making you sad! XD But I'm happy you felt good afterwards. And, lol at that Touhou part!**_

_**To Mystech Master: I love the ideas you suggested (as always) and will totally bounce on, like, all of them! It's moments revolving around characters like Amnesia that make me half-tempted to branch out and make short novels and the like dedicated to different pathways of this series, so thanks as always! You've certainly got my gears turning. And don't worry about leaving long suggestions, because if anything the more detail the more I have to work with.**_

_**To jadasimone16: I think it's safe to say that nobody keeps their cool for very long in this story. XD**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Thanks so much! Yeah, I like to play around with ideas and get peoples' feedback on whether or not they like certain pathways so that way I can do something that both feels right for me, and the audience. And no problem, thanks for suggesting the idea!**_

_**To Praxus84: Glad you enjoyed it. I did find playing off the idea of Sun being the more responsible one for this chapter something that appealed to me and felt natural since, I do just recognize aspects of his character that I feel people overlook. Like how he selflessly followed after Blake and was there to be her emotional crutch in a time when she was devastated and was desperate for somebody like him to be there for her. (Which is why I will ship BlackSun to death and find Bumbleby to be shilling and lazy, but I'm not here to rant on that.) Also, glad you enjoyed the other character interactions, and I had not considered having Winter suffer from both Qrow and Daidoji at once but that idea has clicked with me and I totally love it, so thanks!**_

_**To Will DeGrave: The Yomi idea sounds cool and one I can work with it! Same thing goes for the Haruka and Kokonoe one. And don't worry on suggesting a bit of SK chapters, I can feel that. It's similar to me doing a lot with RWBY! XD And yes, I have been a bit tired lately, so thank you for your support! ^^**_

_**To AzuriteInsanity: Glad to hear you enjoyed it. And I agree, we need ship names for all of the pairings we got going so far! Let's get on it people! (Something like Tough Love came to mind for Yang and Aki, but that one doesn't seem to be that "original" or so. At least as much as Night Rose and Royal Flush.)**_

_**To Naoto Redgrave: Yeah! Hero Sun! And yes, I pictured drunk Mitsuru would be a bit dangerous, hence why she kinda let go of her normal restrictions back there.**_

_**To FightingFlash64: Yeah, I have thought of/been suggested to try storyline chapters, so I am going to try something like that in the future. Also, that suggestion with Platinum and Yosuke sounds positively hilarious so I will definitely keep that one in the list! Thank you very much! (Also, of course I get the Band Geeks reference! That's from Spongebob! At least, so long as that's the extent of it and there's no secret meaning beyond that I'm just really dumb and totally missing. Which is entirely possible.)**_

_**To BooDawg: Glad to hear you like it. And I concur that Yu says everything with a straight face. And don't worry, I don't try to go overboard with political themes (I mean what do you take me for, a modern comic writer?) so I'm not gonna go spitting on another person's country/culture, since I don't have the right. But thanks for thinking me level-headed, I appreciate that. And as far as I can tell, everyone is original/canon power level? I mean, since I haven't included many fights I have to presume that everyone is as they are in-game. (Though I will admit that astronomically catapults all Blazblue characters leagues above anyone from RWBY, Senran Kagura, Persona, and Under Night.)**_

_**To the Guest user who left the "list" review: 1.) Yeah, I was totally keeping that in mind when portraying Mitsuru's drunkness. I picture that she typically has herself more well put together than somebody like Aki, but when drunk she just kinda "let go" and had her emotions totally fall apart. 2.) I can picture the exact situation happening with Hyde, Jaune, and Yu all going ballistic, and I will admit I would have never pictured Adachi ending up with Velvet, but I will keep that in mind and look into that story you mentioned. Sounds interesting, not gonna lie. And yes! One of the first pairings I had ever thought of was Sho Minazuki and Scharlachrot! I totally love that idea but I hadn't gotten to portraying it yet because... reasons. And finally 4.) Like I mentioned, all will be revealed~!**_

_**To the separate Guest user: Thanks for agreeing with the whole Mitsuru thing, and I like the idea of Ragna working with SEES, so I'll keep that in mind. Also, teaming up Kagura and Qrow is a thought that I hadn't considered yet, but has some merit. I can just picture Daidoji watching them move with the most shit-eating grin on her face! And Kagura x Glynda made me chuckle like a dork upon reading that, and I can't stop! XD So, thanks for that suggestion!**_

_**Also the guest who suggested Seth x Neo, I don't lie that sounds interesting and has some appeal. Like, imagining if Seth butt heads with her after the RWBY Vol. 3 finale, where Neo is hunting Team RWBY out of revenge, and crosses blades with Seth as he himself is teetering on the moral line. It'd also be especially interesting since Neo chooses not to speak, and much of their interactions would be regulated to Seth being the one to speak for them both. Let me know everyone else what you think! (In the meantime, however, I am still gonna have Seth being all crushin' on Blake since I take pride in that idea.)**_

_**So that does it for this one! Apologies again for taking so long, but I should hopefully get a new chapter out sooner. And please let me know if you guys want me to do a Q&A chapter and if I should either have different chapters dedicated to each answering session or a totally different fanfic page. Please let me know! And until next time, thanks as always for reading, have a wonderful day/evening and take care!**_


	39. Cross Tag Beach Splash Alter!

A/N: So just a heads up, for all the swimsuits being used in this chapter, just presume them to be the defaults for the SK girls, Investigation Team, Blazblue girls, and Team RWBY if you've ever read/seen the cover of RWBY: The Session (which I've still not read yet since it's not in English! Darn it! Y-you can't keep that from me!). You can see the UNIB girls in swimsuits in some promotional images and such. Also, big shout-out for Will DeGrave for the weapons suggestions! They made my job a lot easier man, you're a legend! With that said, please enjoy what has made out to be another one of the longest chapters I've ever done! ^^

* * *

Teddie has one massive goal in life; to hunt down the hottest girls that he could possibly find and court them hard. He was, as he would classify himself, a "hopeless romantic." But such as it was, he got shot down by any and all women that he ever got near.

You couldn't help but give him points for persistence, if not idiocy. So, he did not give up and vowed that he would get himself some hotties in his pocket. And with all the girls he knew now, he was determined to find somebody to be with him.

"_Yang-chan's curves! Chie-chan's legs! Noel-chan's lips! Yumi-chan's chest! Ruby-chan's backside!_"

"Ted!" Naoto K. yelled.

"Wha-? Huh?" Teddie wondered.

"You blanked out on us," Jaune observed. "What happened there?"

"O-oh, nothing!" Teddie said. "I was only daydreaming about the prospects to come!"

"And what would that be exactly?" Kanji asked.

Teddie curled his fingers, as he lead the group around the bend on the road they had been walking on. Naturally, for whatever plan that Teddie had in mind, he had gathered all the regular boys to follow him, including Jaune and Ren from Team JNPR, Hyde Kido, the other boys from the Investigation Team, Sun and Neptune from Team SSSN, and Naoto Kurogane. The only one they were missing, for some reason, was Yosuke, who hadn't been seen since the New Year's Eve party.

They were in the Investigation Team's world, with Teddie leading them up a familiar road that stretched around the hillsides, curving along the coast. Eventually, they rounded the bend, where they saw a massive, golden beach stretching out before them!

"Gentlemen!" Teddie said proudly. "Welcome to the first day of the rest of your lives!"

"The... beach?" Naoto asked.

"What's the deal Teddie?" Hyde asked. "We didn't bring any swimwear. Did we?" he asked the others, with the others shaking their heads.

"Oh don't worry," Teddie said. "For this, we aren't the ones who're gonna need their swimwear."

"What're you...?" Sun began, before gaining a surprised expression. "Hang on a minute," he said, "is this where...?"

"Yup~" Teddie said. "According to my sources, all of our lovely lady friends are taking a day to themselves at the beach. And we're gonna enjoy the show gentle-grizzlies."

"Wait a minute!" Kanji said. "None of us knew the girls were going to the beach! How did you of all people know!"

"As I said," Teddie said, "I have a source~"

"It was Katsuragi," the group of boys collectively said, causing Teddie to topple comically over!

"Besides the point!" Teddie said. "We are gonna enjoy a show by witnessing our girls be one with the sea!"

"This is bull," Naoto said. "We shouldn't be spying on the girls like this. They probably didn't ask us to joing them so we don't go ogling at them."

"Fine!" Teddie said. "If you don't want to join, then the bears of culture can go along instead!"

"I'm a bear of culture," Neptune said, raising his hand.

"Here, here!" Sun said.

"You are all dipshits," Kanji said.

"Kanji my friend," Sun said, throwing an arm over the taller blonde's shoulder. "If there is one thing that I have learnt about you in the days that I have known you, you are a man deserving of more life experience! You need to know the pleasures of the femme fatale! Let us teach you."

"Why would I want that?" Kanji asked. "I think I appreciate them enough already. In fact, I think that the girls would say I appreciate them more than you."

Teddie bounced over and looked at Kanji right in the eye (which required Neptune holding him up to be eye level). "Katsu-chan's breasts," he said. "Blake-chan's hips. Mai-chan's hair."

"W-what the hell're you doing!?" Kanji said.

"Ruby-chan's body," Teddie went on. "Orie-chan's eyes. Noel-cha-"

"Alright! I give up, dammit!" Kanji yelled.

"We got one," Sun said, giving the bear a thumbs up. Their eyes turned towards Hyde, Naoto, Jaune, and Ren, who all crumpled under their gaze!

"N-now see here-!" Jaune said, only for Teddie to look him in the eye (Neptune still holding him up).

"Pyrrha-chan," Teddie said. "Have you ever seen Pyrrha-chan in a swimsuit before? You ever go to the beach or a pool with her, in such a state? One that some may claim as _scantily clad_, with so much skin on show~?"

"W-well," Jaune said. "I-I mean we did at one poin-"

"And how did it feel?" Teddie asked. "To see her like that?"

"W-well I mean," Jaune said, face increasingly flushing red. "W-well I can't lie she is fairly pretty-"

"You're lucky," Teddie said. "You live with two strong, pretty women. And yet how many times have you been able to... _appreciate it~_" He said this last part as he leaned close to Jaune's ear.

"Okay! Okay! Okay!" Jaune yelled. "F-fine! Ju-just stop it already!"

Teddie turned to Ren, ready to fire off the same comments but in reference to Nora this time. However, the green clad ninja held a hand up.

"Say no more," he said. "I won't bother defending myself."

"Nice to see you have sense," Teddie said.

Next, he looked to the only two left that hadn't been 'convinced' as of yet, Hyde and Naoto. Hyde would be easy, he would just have to remind Hyde over Ruby in a swimsuit, like he had for the Beauty Pageant. Naoto would be a tough cookie, since he at least didn't believe there was any girl that he was interested in.

But if Teddie did something somewhat like what they had done with Kanji, it might convince him to think different. After all, there was already a bright pink tinge on his cheeks. Teddie licked his lips as he looked at the Bloodedge Kindred.

"N-no!" Naoto said. "D-don't do this!"

"Come on Naoto," Teddie said. "Don't you long to be a normal teenage boy again? It's completely natural. All the guys are doing it."

"Okay!" Naoto said. "Just... stop talking so flirtatiously!"

"One to go," Teddie said, looking to Hyde!

"I-I know what you're gonna pull!" Hyde said, pointing at the bear. "You're gonna try tricking me with Ruby, right? Well I'm not falling for it! No matter what ship you got in your head or whatever, I'm not doing it! Hell no!"

"Fine," Teddie shrugged. "But aren't you close with all of Team RWBY?"

"...What?" Hyde asked.

"Yeah," Teddie said. "You and Weiss-chan are pretty good friends, yeah? And Blake-chan seems to trust you. Yang-chan likes you like a brother. Does the prospects of seeing them and Ruby-chan in the sea seem appealing to you?"

"W-well..." Hyde said.

"Come on Hyde," Teddie said. "You can act as polite as you want, but you can't deny, you're as interested in girls as the rest of us. I've even seen your magazines under the mattress in your bedroom when we were playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses."

"Hey!" Hyde said. "What the hell were you doing going through the stuff in my room!?"

"I know your type," Teddie said.

"Okay! Enough! I give up!" Hyde said.

"And we got em' all!" Teddie said proudly. "Huzzah!" he added, punching a fist in the air!

"Huzzah!" Sun and Neptune cheered. Unfortunately, by throwing his own fist in the air, Neptune dropped Teddie to the ground hard!

Hyde gave a sigh, before his gaze turned to Yu Narukami, who'd been silent this entire time save for going "Huzzah!" with Sun and Neptune! "You've been quiet," Hyde observed.

"Well," Yu said, "I was just waiting to see how that all went."

"I suppose you were going to go along with this," Naoto said.

"Of course," Yu said proudly. "Don't worry guys, we're just gonna watch from afar. We're not gonna be doing anything objectively wrong. It'll be as if we were never really there. And none of the girls will be any the wiser."

With that said, he pointed ahead, leading the gentlemen along behind him.

"Sensei knows how to witness art at work," Teddie said proudly. With reluctant sighs, the other boys followed along to see just how what was initially intended to be "a retreat" for the girls would pan out.

* * *

"Dun-nuh! Dun-nuh! Dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-dun-!"

Katsuragi was initially aiming to pounce on Blake from the waves like a shark, only for the faunus girl to deliver a solid backhand right into Katsu's face! "Nope," Blake said, as Katsu comically slipped back into the water.

"Wow Blake," Asuka said, observing as her fellow Hanzo student drifted past comically. "I don't know how you could be able to spot her like that, considering how I'm a ninja and yet she somehow manages to always sneak up on me."

"Faunus hearing," Blake said, gesturing at her ears beneath her bow. "Comes in handy."

Just then, Akane, a friend of Heart's from the Inuwaka Clan, popped up from beneath the water! "I understand how that is!" she said, her own canine ears wiggling on top of her head. "But, do tell Blake, why are you still wearing your bow? It's not like anybody else is here to see you, and we all know your that fauna-whatever it is you say."

"It's a habit really," Blake said, shrugging it off. "Every morning I wake up and first thing I do is take off my old bow and swap it with a new one."

"Well you should loosen up!" Akane said, getting in Blake's face. "Just take it off and let everything hang out!"

"You do realize how that sounds, right?" Blake asked.

"Of course she does," Asuka said. "But you know she's got a point."

Blake could merely sigh.

Back on shore, Yumi had just finished putting on her sunblock, sitting beneath an umbrella that was propped up on the sand. Next to her, Scharlachrot was reclined on a towel in a vain attempt to take a nap. She, along with Kamui and Konoha were the only ones that were not going into the water it seemed, so much to the point they were still dressed in their regular clothes.

Konoha was enlisted to help keep an eye on Koromaru and Zwei, as the dogs were allowed to hang out on the beach with them. Kamui on the other hand seemed to find more enjoyment out of merely watching the group all have fun, her legs crossed as she watched with her eyes just shaded underneath the umbrella propped up next to her.

"You sure you don't want to join us, Scharlachrot?" Yumi asked the Valkyria. "I'm sure it would make Weiß very happy."

"No thanks," Scharlachrot said. "None of your games or anything click with me. If you need me, I'll be right here."

"If you say so," Yumi sighed.

"And just be aware," Scharlachrot added, holding up a finger. "If anything happens to Sophie, I will disembowel every last one of you. Got me?"

"Y-yes," Yumi said, giving a nervous laugh."I think everyone here is well aware of this."

Further down the shore, closer to the water, Ruby and Noel were in a heated volleyball game against Yang and Mai. So far, the Rose Red and Calamity Trigger had been in a fight for their lives against the Pure Grimoire and Sunny Little Dragon, rushing back and forth along the perimeter of their game as it seemed Yang and Mai were merely just playing around! Finally, it got to a point where Yang popped right in the air and spiked the ball, nailing her little sister square in the forehead with enough force to throw her from her feet, the ball sailing right over to the water!

"Uh... woops," Yang said. "Sorry sis! You okay?" Ruby merely held up a thumb in response, still laying flat on her back.

"Oh my," Penny said, but unable to keep herself from laughing. "Ruby was knocked out!" Penny was wearing a white, one-piece swimsuit with a frilly top and bottom, in addition to her default pink bow on her head.

Next to her, Makoto, Rise, and Hibari had been watching the game.

"Oh wow," Makoto said, snickering over Ruby's KO. "Yang! Go easy on her!"

"Totally!" Hibari said. "Ruby was, like, totally wrecked!"

Makoto and even Penny both looked at Hibari, with baffled looks on their faces. "What?" Makoto asked.

"I was unfamiliar Hibari spoke that way," Penny said.

"Oh," Rise said. "I've been teaching her lessons from my world."

"I've learned a lot!" Hibari said. "Rise's such a good friend!" She gave Rise a backwards hug, Rise laughing in delight.

"Rise," Makoto said. "I think you shouldn't be 'teaching' her the way you clearly have been."

"What?" Rise asked. "She likes it."

"Well not only will she mimic your behavior," Makoto said, "but there's somebody else who will take this as a threat."

From nearby, Yagyu let out a sneeze.

"Uh..." Noel said, her eyes glued upwards as she watched the ball still flying through the air. "We should get that."

As the ball reached the water, Labrys's head emerged at the same moment, the ball bouncing right off of her as she rose up. She marched up the shore, spitting water out of her mouth. She was the only one present that went in the water who was not wearing a swimsuit, considering that, well, she was one of the most obviously robotic... uh, robots that the group knew. Henceforth, she had merely removed the Yasogami High uniform she typically wore and was just in her naturally robotic body.

"Are you okay, Labrys?" Ruby asked, recognizing the stoic look the ASSW had as she walked out of the sea.

"I have discovered the hard way," Labrys replied, "that I cannot float. So, swimming is a big no-no for me."

Just behind her, Es walked up the water as well with the volleyball in hand. "That is rather unfortunate," she observed. "From my studies, I would have presumed that most robotically, artificial lifeforms would follow a similar construction."

"Well," Labrys observed, "not all of us robots/androids/cyborgs/etc. can have built-in floaties like you." Despite pointing directly at Es's ample chest, the Guardian of the Azure could merely tilt her head to the side curiously.

"Es!" Mai said. "You think you can throw that back?"

Es looked at the mismatched girl and threw the ball back with a massive shove! Mai was the next one blown from her feet, as the ball connected right with her gut and threw her back! Yang cringed at the sight, but did give Es an impressed whistle.

"Okay ladies," Haruka said, sneaking up on the group with the rest of the Crimson Squad, in addition to the Hebijo girls. "We have all conferred, and thought of a new game for us to play."

Yang and Ruby blinked, looking down at the gasping Mai. "Probably for the best," Yang said. "What do you suggest?"

The next minute, all girls present pulled out water guns or other assorted weapons of some kind! "Peach Beach Splash," they collectively said.

All girls were gathered up in the next minute or two. They were all moved into groups of five, with each of the shinobi schools gathering up into their own groups, including;

Hanzo - Asuka, Katsu, Ikaruga, Yagyu, and Hibari. Hebijo - Miyabi, Imu, Murasaki, Ryobi, and Ryona. Gessen - Yumi, Murakumo, Yozakura, Shiki, and Minori. And Homura's Crimson Squad - Homura herself, Haruka, Yomi, Mirai, and Hikage.

There was also all four girls from the Investigation Team, plus Labrys. And then from their respective worlds in their own teams was Heart, Weiß, Saki, Akane, and Lilica, versus Orie, Mika, Yuzuriha, Linne, and Vatista, and finally Noel, Es, Mai, Tsubaki, and Makoto. The only one an odd number was Team RWBY, who also had Pyrrha, Nora, and Penny on their side.

"Hm..." Yumi observed. "That's gonna be problematic."

"Perhaps one of us should step out?" Pyrrha observed.

"It ain't gonna be me!" Nora said. "I want to taste blood today!"

"What game is this?" Scharlachrot asked, suddenly sitting straight up. "You showed me weapons. So I want in. If we get one more person, we can have at least a team of four."

"Konoha," Kamui asked. "Did you want to take part in this game as well?"

"Uh... s-sure!" Konoha said, nodding happily. "You two sit here and wait for me, okay?" she then told Zwei and Koromaru. "Stay and watch." The dogs dutifully sat and waited, tails wagging happily.

"Very well," Kamui observed. "We now have a makeshift team of Pyrrha, Nora, Scharlachrot, Konoha, and myself."

"Okay!" Ruby said, pumping a fist, before delivering a high five to Nora. "And we can keep Penny on our team! But, uh... we still don't know what this game is."

"Allow me to elucidate," Yumi replied. "This game is an old ritual of the shinobi in our world. The goals are simple. Merely knock out your opponent with your water guns. Your goal is to stay as dry as you can. Get soaked, and you're eliminated. Simple."

"An old fashioned ninja ritual... using water guns?" Chie asked.

"Yes," the shinobi all said, as if it were obvious.

"The more we hear about your world," Tsubaki added, hand on her hip, "the more odd it sounds."

"Yeah," Ruby said. "I don't want to go to any world where my clothes can disintegrate. I wouldn't ever live down the shame."

"Very inconvenient," Penny nodded despondently.

"Well we've survived," Homura said. "So are you guys in or out?"

"Oh we're in!" Rise said confidently. "There is no way we're gonna turn this down!"

"Same here!" Yang said. "Team RWBY ain't going down without a fight!"

"We will compete as well," Es added. "This battle seems... intriguing."

"I suppose it wouldn't be right if we turned down," Orie replied, "when everyone else has already agreed."

"Awesome," Asuka said. "But there are a few additional rules that have to be noted. First off, we can use physical weapons as well, but only for a few occasions. They won't count towards winning the game, as you still have to soak your enemy. But if you get too close to an opponent, you can at least use them to get them away from you."

"Fair enough," Blake said. "I think we all have some extra tricks up our sleeves. Don't we?"

"Oh yeah!" Ruby, Weiss, and Yang agreed.

"We'll have some additional tricks as well," Ikaruga said. "But as for the other rule, no Shinobi Arts can be used. And to keep fairness in check, the rules should also be the same for all of your special abilities as well. Meaning no EXS, no Persona, no Semblance, and no Arcana."

"Really?" Chie asked. "Dang. That sucks."

"Agreed," Akane said. "But, it's not like I use my Arcana unless I have to. So that doesn't hurt me by any means."

"Right," Yukiko nodded. "And we've been trying to train without using our Personas as often as we normally do, so we should try something like this out!"

"I concur," Weiss said. "Fighting without the dependency on Semblance will do us well just as much."

"So we're all in agreeance?" Haruka asked. "Good. So line up laides, and grab your weapons."

The group began dispensing different water gun weapons to each other that suited their fighting styles the best. In order, the weapons dispersed were:

Linne, Noel, Asuka, and Heart with dual handguns, while Hikage, Shirogane, Blake, Kamui, and Miyabi opted to single handguns.

Ruby, Ikaruga, Ryobi, Saki, and Tsubaki with sniper rifles.

Yumi, Pyrrha, Weiss, and Mai with assault rifles.

Es, Katsuragi, Yuzuriha, Yomi, Scharlachrot, and Murasaki with gatling guns.

Murakumo, Makoto, Nora, and Vatista with grenade launchers.

Yang, Yozakura, Lilica, Chie, and Yagyu with shotguns.

Imu, Mirai, Yukiko, Weiß, Konoha, Shiki, and Orie with spray guns.

Homura, Minori, Labrys, Akane, and Mika with (bottle) rocket launchers.

Hibari, Ryona, Rise, Penny, and Haruka with shower guns.

As this happened, further up the hill, the boys were all staring at the scene unfolding, practically hyperventilating at the prospects to come!

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" Neptune, Sun, and Teddie were all chanting eagerly. Next to them, even Kanji and Jaune found themselves staring intently at the crowd, noses fit to start bleeding merely at the mental imagery that began plaguing their minds. Even Narukami was chanting, "yes," a little more determined than the others. That is, until he caught Kurogane, Hyde, and Ren all staring at him with bemused expressions.

"Sorry," he said.

Eventually, the girls all gathered up their weapons, and spread out across the beach! They were all lined up, five in a row, as they conferred their strategies with one another. Weapons were primed and ready.

"There's just one more addition that I wanted to note," Haruka said, before pulling out a pink vial from... somewhere. Did she have pockets in that swimsuit?

"What is that?" Penny asked curiously.

"This little baby," Haruka said, "is something I whipped up that can turn clothes transparent. Shall we make this game a bit more challenging and have that added?"

"YES!" Ryona shouted.

"NO!" practically everyone else yelled.

"Get that crap outta here!" Chie yelled. "Jeez, why do you even have something like that!?"

"Why else?" Haruka asked, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well we are not using it!" Weiss added. "So get it away!"

"Aw," Katsu said, rather disappointed.

"No!" Asuka said, pointing at her fellow ninja. "Bad Katsuragi!"

"We are not allowing that," Yagyu agreed. "So keep your wet dreams to yourself."

"Fine," Katsu shrugged.

"And you are not grabbing that vial from Haruka when we leave!" Ikaruga added.

"Ah, you're no fun!" Katsu said, lolling her head back.

"So... we're not using it?" Haruka asked, shaking the vial lightly.

"NO! We are not!" everyone yelled again.

"I swear Haruka," Nora said, prepping her grenade launcher! "You use it, I make you eat that adorable bow on your head!" She cocked her gun for dramatic effect.

"Okay! Sheesh!" Haruka said, putting the vial away.

Back up the hill, Kurogane, Hyde, Kanji, Ren, and even Yu all looked to the other boys blinking slowly. The others jumped at the sight of the other boys staring at them with rater cold expressions.

"Hold up," Sun said, "we didn't say anything!"

"But you thought it," Hyde said.

"We did no such thing!" Neptune said.

"Then you're lying," Kurogane added.

"We are not!" Sun and Neptune said together.

"I deny nothing," Teddie replied, causing the others to comically pass out!

With the girls again, everyone had their weapons primed and ready, all ready to get bolting across the sand as soon as the signal was thrown!

"Ten!" Heart said.

"Nine!" Orie said.

"Eight!" Yukiko said.

"Seven!" Noel and the others declared as one.

"Six!" Team RWBY plus Penny yelled.

"Five!" Asuka shouted!

"Four!" Homura said.

"Three!" Yumi said.

"Two!" Miyabi said.

"One!" Scharlachrot and Pyrrha's team yelled.

"Go!" everyone yelled.

The groups all split off in dozens of directions! Water, balloons, and rockets were flying through the air at terminal velocity but nobody had gotten hit yet!

Saki and Chie naturally closed in on each other first! The two were affectionate "rivals" whenever they trained with Akihiko to get physically stronger, due to using very similar fighting styles! The two shot at one another numerous times, both ducking and sliding around each blast of water, Chie with her shotgun and Saki with her sniper, before they got within a few feet of one another!

They instinctively delivered kicks towards each other, legs connecting in midair, before dropping back to the sand! The problem was, neither of them acknowledged an oncoming blonde racing towards them! "Hey ladies!" she shouted. "I'mma make you wet! And not in the fun way!"

"Oh hell!" both Chie and Saki said, as they saw Katsuragi barreling towards them!

While Chie and Saki had a friendly rivalry between each other, they both had a deep seated resentment towards Katsuragi. While they respected her skills, and would readily admit that she would more than likely win in a one on one battle between either of them, they were obviously not privy to her letcherous habits, which certainly made it grievously annoying each time she showed up to "train." Which naturally translated to attempting to grope and fondel anyone within range, which in itself also caused Akihiko to start splitting hairs. They knew she may target them eventually during this Peach Beach Splash, but they were still surprised with all the other rivaling shinobi nearby, she would make a beeling straight for them!

Katsu leapt up in the air, gatling gun barrel trained towards the two girls! With her superior speed thanks to her ninja training, she was primed and ready to shoot down both the Persona user and Arcana user before they could even blink! That is, until she was blown from the air in numerous rockets that came from behind both Saki and Chie!

"Ha! Eat it!" Akane yelled, leaping over the two girls' heads and landing next to the downed Katsuragi. "That makes one out of us four feetsy fighters down!"

"Aw man!" Katsu said sadly. "I didn't even get to have any fun yet!" She was nailed with another rocket in the nose, as Akane booked it, but not before sending a wink toward Saki!

Saki sent a happy nod of her own at Akane, before returning to her duel with Chie! The carnivore was momentarily stunned by Saki's continued attacks, before recovering and keeping up the fight!

Across the bay, Imu had surprisingly targetted Ruby of all people as soon as the Peach Beach Splash began. She was focused on Ruby because she knew her as the leader of Team RWBY. As such, Imu had the mentality of targetting any opposing leader, all for the glory of Miyabi!

_You're mine, Ruby Rose, _Imu giggled mentally to herself, as she held her guns aloft, ready to strike down Ruby the moment she had the chance! _How can you honestyly pride yourself as a leader when you're so disfunctional and childish!?_

_Take Miyabi. She's so strong, and orderly, and stoic, and handsome! You're nothing like her, and yet you make yourself out to be the leader of your team! How uncouth! You don't deserve the same title as the great Miyabi!_

Imu continued pursuing Ruby across the beach, several pegs behind her. But even without using her Petal Burst Semblance, Ruby proved to be impressively fast, even for a shinobi in training like Imu. Ruby hopped up on top of a rock, bouncing for only a moment at the heat that was radiating off of it from the sunlight, before training her sniper gun out across the sand!

From nearby, Mika and Minori were in a bit of a watery hissy fight! Neither one of them were nailing a single hit with their rockets on the other, which left them easy pickings for the Huntress in training. With a few dallops, both the Licht Kries member and Gessen Academy student were knocked out!

"Gotcha both!" Ruby said happily.

"How could you!?" Mika said, sitting back up. "I thought we were cool!" Minori on the other hand was just laying in the sand pouting.

"Sorry you two," Ruby said, pumping her gun, "but Team RWBY's gonna steal this victory!"

"Good luck with that," Imu said, landing behind Ruby, spray gun trained on the hooded girl. "Because look who's got you!"

Next thing she knew, however, Imu was blown off her feet by dozens of blasts of water, knocking her from the rock that Ruby was still crouched on. Through soaked glasses, Imu saw Weiss strut past, sending the fallen ninja a confident smirk, leaning her rifle on her shoulder.

"And as always," Ruby said proudly, "my BFF has my back!"

"No," Weiss said firmly, before rushing away again.

"Yes!" Ruby said to herself in a fist pump, before running away herself!

"Miyabi," Imu said, head hung in defeat, "forgive me. I have failed you!" she declared dramatically, dropping on her back in the sand.

"Boy," Mika said. "She sucks."

"Yeah," Minori nodded. "Wanna get ice cream?"

"Do I!?" Mika said.

Suffice to say, the early shots fired, with how many fighters there were, had a total blitzkrieg of combatants knocked out within the first minute or so! Not only were Mika, Minori, and Katsuragi among the first to drop, but a few others soon fell victim to one attack or another.

"Oh shit!" Yuzu screamed, ducking behind a rock, crouching next to a startled Blake as they both kept down from the shower of water that was coming down! You'd think that these number of shots were coming from numerous individuals, but it wasn't. It was all from one individual: Es.

The Guardian of the Azure had busted out a gosh, darn, hecking gatling gun water weapon and was spraying the sand enough to make Coco Adel cry tears of joy. From the shots of water, several individuals quickly fell victim to her. Yomi, Rise, Shiki, and Hibari all fell victim to her in six seconds flat!

"Oh man!" Rise said. "I didn't even get anybody!"

"Same here," Shiki agreed. "This is, like, such a bummer!"

Yuzu and Blake turned to one another as they felt a silent understanding emerge. "Okay," Yuzu said, "temporary truce to take her out?"

"Agreed," Blake said.

"Let's show these shinobi girls what a real ninja is made out of," Yuzu grinned wickedly. With a mighty war cry from Yuzu, Blake followed behind with a good natured roll of her eyes, before they charged at Es! Water chased them in waves, before Blake was the one who got the brunt of the offense directed towards her!

Blake was able to leap over Es's head, as Yuzu planted her feet, sliding across the sand to get a clear shot with her own gatling gun! However, Es was still primed in her general direction, unleashing a volley of water that prompted Yuzu to keep running the second she had stopped! She silently cursed herself for being unable to use her EXS, in addition to being weighted down by the gatling gun she was lugging! Both Yuzu and Blake charged behind a different rock, both taking a breath as they had come mere centimeters away from death!

"Okay," Yuzu said. "That didn't work."

"No it did not," Blake said. "Thank you very much for stating the obvious."

"You're very welcome," Yuzu replied.

They both stopped, however, as they saw Vatista crouched down next to them. She was wearing a solid black, one-piece swimsuit. But in addition, for whatever reason, she was also wearing the bow she wore with her usual dress.

She made eye contact with Yuzu and Blake, before giving a nod. "Excuse me," she said. She jumped from the cover and appeared right next to Es, training her grenade launcher on the Guardian of the Azure. "Observation. I have you at my mercy."

"Correction," Es replied. "you will not have me at your mercy for long."

"Declaration," Vatista said. "as soon as I pull this trigger, you will be bested."

"Counterpoint," Es said. "I will avoid the shot and best you with my own weapon."

"Argument," Vatista said. "I will avoid your own onslaught, and fire at you as I have an opening."

"Contradiction," Es said. "You won't be able to avoid my onslaught."

Both Yuzu and Blake had the most befuddled looks on their faces as they watched the artificial figures cut from the same cloth having their "argument." They both looked to one another, before giving a collective shrug. They both took fire on the two vulnerable not-quite-robots, with Blake taking down Vatista with her handgun and Yuzu eliminating Es with a shower of water from her gun.

"There!" Yuzu said. "You're both down! Now can we not with that!?"

Both Vatista and Es sat back up, looking to one another and giving a monotonous, "Oh."

"And with these two out," Yuzu said, before turning to Blake, "mano e' mano?"

Before she could even get a proper answer, Blake had shot her in the head, gut, and hips with her gun! Yuzu collapsed, her gatling gun crumpling beside her, as Blake merely smirked down at her fallen quarry.

"Uncool man," Yuzu said. "Uncool."

Further down, Heart had clear targets in mind! Her "heroic" and "chivalrous" mindset had taken the wheel, and gave her a clear direction in moving towards the evil shinobi! Whether they be students of Hebijo or current renegades, Heart was huting them down like a predator!

She'd been taking stock of the eliminated individuals so far, and knew that the ones that had been eliminated from the evil shinobi were Imu from Hebijo and Yomi from the Crimson Squad, leaving the remainders of each team!

"Hey there!" Heart said happily, sneaking right up to Ryobi!

"What the he-!?" Ryobi was going to say, before getting nailed right in the gut by an inflatable knuckle from Heart! She was blown right from her feet, and was pushed all the way into the ocean by a stream of water from one of Heart's guns!

"Ouch..." Orie said, cringing at the sight. "That looked like it hurt!"

"Well," Heart said. "She was an evil shinobi?"

Orie shrugged it off. "Sorry to do this Heart," she said, the barrel of her spray gun at the Rare Maiden, "but you know we're on opposing sides for this battle."

"Not so fast," Kamui intersected, dropping down in front of Orie with an inflatable sword strike! She had since dispatched her skirt and opened up her vest to reveal a dark, one-piece swimsuit that she must have had on for just the occasion. Orie was clipped, staggering on her feet, before getting knocked further back by the Millenial Guardian. "While we may be on opposing sides, Heart remains a trusted confidant for me. So you'll forgive me for having to keep you from eliminating her."

Orie snagged her gun back, before pulling out her own inflatable sword. "As you wish," she said. "Then let us take each other on."

The next thing that Heart knew, both Orie and Kamui became a solid blur of motion, as they dualed each other with inflatable pool swords. Merely blinking at the sight, Heart smiled and delivered a thumbs up to Kamui! "Thanks a million Kamu-Kamu!" she said.

She turned, just in time for a splash of water to nearly hit her straight in the head, ducking enough for it to just about snag her cowlick! "Aw man..." Heart said. "I really liked my heart-shaped hair."

She stood back upright, seeing Hikage running towards her! Blasts of water came at her, Heart jumping right over the attack, and shooting Hikage with her own retaliating blasts!

"You know Hikage," Heart said, "typically you look really relaxed, but I feel like you need to emote more! The whole 'no emotions' thing is just depressing! I mean, you can't even feel love if you act like that all the time!"

"Do you have a trigger?" she asked, as Hikage kept up the assault, Heart expertly running backwards and ducking/dodging around all of the snake-like girls attacks, whilst firing off a few of her own! "Like, is there something that you do that gives up emotions?"

"Fighting?" Hikage said.

"...Anything other than that?" Heart added. She stopped in place, throwing one of her pistols up in the air, before attempting to deliver another punch! Hikage side-stepped around this one, before attempting to shoot Heart, who merely backhanded the gun away! She proceeded to nail Hikage with a punch from her free hand square in the face with the inflatable fist! She caught her gun in midair, and shot the renegade shinobi down with blasts from both weapons!

"Two down!" Heart said.

"Darn," Hikage said monotonously.

"Uh... s-sorry I hit you like that," Heart said.

"It's okay," Hikage said. "I mean, I don't really care."

"So we're still friends?" Heart asked happily.

"I never recall calling us friends," Hikage said. "But sure. Whatever makes you happy."

"Yay!" Heart cheered, before nearly getting nailed with a second blast of water! She spun around, weapons trained, which spooked Murasaki, who was the one who shot at her!

"S-sorry," she said. "But I think I have to beat you."

"While I accept your apology," Heart said. "I won't let you beat me!" She charged forward, Murasaki barely even looking as she desperately backed up, blasts from her gatling gun trained at Heart!

The Rare Maiden leapt up over Murasaki's head, showering the evil shinobi from above! Heart landed beside Murasaki, who was practically in a feetle position.

"Uh... sorry," Heart said.

"It's okay," Murasaki said. "I was a bit too nervous."

"Oh don't worry about it!" Heart said. "You can't expect to be brave all the time! Just work at getting braver!"

"I'm brave!" Ryona cheered, leaping over with her shower gun! Heart ducked around Ryona's attacks, running in a straight line towards Heart, who fired off a few blasts from her own gun, knocking Ryona off her feet and she slid across the ground, laughing like mad!

"Oh man," she said. "I guess I got all wet."

"Uh..." Heart said. "Did you do that on purpose?"

"Hit me a bit more!" Ryona said. "You haven't knocked my swimsuit off!"

"H-hey! Hey!" Heart said. "T-that's not part of the rules!"

"Aw!" Ryona said.

"And with that," Heart added to herself, turning on her heel and walking away, "that makes four evil shinobi down for me!"

"And that'll be the last!" Homura shouted, landing in front of Heart, weapon primed ahead! Heart yelped, before leaping over Homura's head, blasts of water splashing back and forth as the two tried to get a direct hit on either or the other!

Yang was biting her tongue in a cheeky grin, as she easily stepped around each attack that came her way. It appeared that Yukiko, Konoha, and Murakumo all ganged up on her!

"Sorry Yang!" Yukiko said. "Nothing personal!"

Yang dodged around a hit from her spray gun, before squinting to focus a shot, and nailed Yukiko in the chest with a blow from her shotgun! "The feeling's mutual!" Yang said, as Yukiko dropped in defeat!

"You won't get me so easily," Murakumo said, "you stunning example of the female body!" She took a few shots at Yang, water balloons coming down on the blonde!

Yang merely raised a brow, dipping around the balloons, before casually raising her gun and shooting Murakumo right in the face, which naturally blew her mask away! "AH!" Murakumo screamed, hiding her face and dropping her gun! "Anything but that!"

"Your weakness is way too obvious," Yang said, shooting Murakumo a few more times just to confirm her defeat. The dragon turned her sights on Konoha, who had dropped her gun and hid her head, whimpering like a sad puppy. Yang raised a brow once again, before merely delivering a small drop to the dog-like girl's head.

"Three for me," Yang said proudly.

"Pardon me," Akane declared, jumping over quickly towards Yang! "But I do believe you just took out a member from my clan! And for that, prepare to get soaked!"

She jumped towards Yang, who was backing up to brace for Akane to attack! But the Inuwaka member never got a chance as she was knocked from the air the next thing she knew, by a comically large inflatable fist from Yang!

Akane rolled across the ground for a moment, before laying face first in the sand. "Okay... ow," she said, upon stopping.

"Oof... sorry about that," Yang said. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Akane said. "Fine."

Akane jumped back up, weapons trained! Yang smirked as readied to take the canine girl once more! Only for the Inuwaka Clan member to get blown from her feet in a volley of shots of water!

"What?" Yang wondered.

"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" Scharlachrot cackled. "And more drop like flies to me!"

"Aw man..." Akane said. "The lunatic had to take me out?"

Scharlachrot continued to have her crazed look in her eye as she drifted over to Yang. "And now for you!" she said.

"Uh-oh," Yang said, breaking into a cartoonishly fast run as Scharlachrot pursued her!

Linne typically didn't appreciate the limitations her smaller body gave her, but was thankful for it in these circumstances where she was better able to dodge around attacks from her enemies. While she would certainly prefer to be using her EXS to better maneuver around the attacks and get in close, it didn't necessarily detract from her skill as she had now.

Dual guns in hand, she snuck up to a shoot-out between Yozakura and Tsubaki, peppering them with some shots as she sprinted past! Neither one of them saw her until it was far too late and she was quite far away!

"What the heck!?" Yozakura asked. "How much speed was on that!?"

"Such an underhanded tactic," Tsubaki said, wiping water from her face. "No honor."

Mirai saw her approaching, and let loose her spray gun to fend her off! "Oh no you don't, shrimp!" she said. "You're not getting me!"

Linne was unimpressed, as she spun around Mirai's attacks, before sliding under another attack, shooting off a number of hits that blew Mirai off her feet! "Bold move calling me 'shrimp'," Linne said, "when you're barely a few inches taller than I am."

Linne felt her face red for the most part as she kept moving, resentful about being one of the shortest girls present, and somebody as childish as Mirai was actually taller than she was! _Goddamm, mother trucking reincarnation! _she wore internally.

She continued her run, spotting yet another shoot-out, this one between Noel and Ikaruga! She ran past same as before, knocking both of them out with running shots!

"Oh no!" Noel said. "That's unfair!"

"Not unfair," Ikaruga said. "We merely just got outwitted."

The sprinting kept up, as Linne caught sight of Miyabi fighting off Pyrrha! The shinobi was managing to outmanuever the untouchable girl despite her superior range with her rifle! Linne closed in, both guns raised up to bulldoze through both Miyabi and then cut through to Pyrrha on the opposing side!

However, probably through her shinobi training, Miyabi sensed Linne approaching! She ducked unnaturally far backward, just as the Huntress-in-training in front of her let loose a blast from her rifle that nailed Linne straight in the head! Body now soaked, Linne dropped to the ground, as Miyabi stood straight back up and raised her own gun!

"Oh! I'm sorry!" Pyrrha had just enough time to say to the miniscule In-Birth she gunned down, before she herself got shot by Miyabi! The white haired evil shinobi smirked proudly, bowing in respect to Pyrrha all the same, before she leapt off to find new targets!

Shirogane was crouched down low, keeping to the side and peppering shots as she went, catching the lunatics who were running all over the place! Naturally, she knew that if she were to go out with however many opponents as there were now and get right in the line of fire, she would end up no better than any of the others that were dropping like flies!

That is, until she heard a whistle from nearby. The Detective Prince turned to see Lilica smirking right at her. "So, uh..." Lilica said. "What've you been up to?"

Shirogane rose her gun, dodging just in time before Lilica began doing just the same! Shirogane tried her hardest to keep to the cover that she had marked, but Lilica was doing everything she could to catch her before she could properly hide! Shirogane was just able to jump over a rock and use it as cover, before sprinkling a few shots aimed at Lilica, as the demoness was headed right for the ocean!

However, Lilica took to the air, hovering low over the ground as if she were rollerblading, expertly snaking around Shirogane's shots! "Ha!" Lilica laughed. "Nice try, tomboy!"

"Hey!" Haruka yelled, jumping right over to the scene! "No flying!"

Lilica groaned as she dropped into the water. "Seriously?" she asked through the water. "I can't even use my wings? That's just unfair."

"What's unfair," Haruka said, "is the fact that only, like, two or three people here can fly when everyone else can't. No flying!"

"Fine!" Lilica yelled, bouncing out of the water as she took aim! "But I can still take you out!"

That may have been, only for Lilica to get nailed in the face with a blast of water, a millisecond before Haruka got nailed in the back of the head with another! Shirogane twirled her gun around a single finger, as she confidently walked away with a definiteive sashay in her hips.

"Lame," Lilica said, before sinking in the water.

"Totally lame," Haruka added, hanging her head in defeat.

Asuka was not having a good time. At first, she was hoping to settle a score or two with Homura or Yumi, but instead she found herself being hiding for her life from the redhead psychopathic Huntress by the name of Nora!

Naturally, Team JNPR's lunatic teammate was trained with a grenade launcher as her trademark weapon, and was proving her superiority with the weapon over pretty much everyone in her way!

"Here she comes!" Labrys yelled, firing off another rocket towards Nora! Despite not being able to use the water balloon grenade launcher to send herself midair, Nora still proved herself able to avoid the rockets, as she nailed Labrys with a few balloons!

As she kept running, she took a double header of white haired girls out by nailing Weiß and Yagyu with a few more shots! Nora was cackling like a witch as she ran past, looking for more victims!

"How is it that girl is around," Yagyu said, "and everyone from my world are seen as the weird ones?" Weiß could offer no response other than a small smile, taking her defeat in stride!

Asuka leapt in surprise as Nora found her hiding behind a rock, firing off a few protective shots from her handguns before Nora could knock her out with a few balloons! Asuka's only hope was to wait it out until Nora used up all her balloons! However, that was little more than a prayer, even with her shinobi skills in mind! So, despite it being totally dishonorable and not the least bit flattering to herself, Asuka did the one thing that _might _possibly save her from being totally creamed!

"Somebody help me!"

"Incoming!" Mai said, ducking down and firing at Nora with her assault rifle!

Nora merely laughed as she flipped and ducked around Mai's strikes, before firing a solid water balloon to the head!

Hibari was Nora's next victim, nearly given a solid heart attack as Nora pelted her with another water balloon that eliminated the pink haired ninja before she could even do anything so much to defend herself!

Okay, so asking for help wasn't the best idea, as Nora was tanking everybody that came near her! Asuka would have to find some new plan if she was going to survive! Weiss landed directly beside Asuka, throwing a blast from her rifle at Nora, the fellow Beacon student forced to duck beneath the attack!

Nora stood right back up, aiming her grenade launcher at Weiss, before she was pelted on either side by both balloons and water! From nearby, Orie and Makoto were holding their respective weapons which eliminated Nora! She dropped and groaned over her defeat, as everyone nearby sighed heavily, relieved that easily one of the most difficult opponents was knocked out.

"Okay ladies," Makoto said, reloading her own grenade launcher, "four teams stand opposed to one another. Four way free for all, get set!"

Orie and Weiss stood back to back, the Licht Kries member having just narrowly succeeded in her fight against Kamui, only because Nora had instinctively shot down the Millennial Guardian and narrowly missed Orie. All the same, the respective partnership between the Executor and Ice Queen was still felt as they silently vowed to handle each other once Makoto and Asuka were knocked out of the way.

"Hey. Hey now!" Asuka said, holding her own weapons, sensing the alliance that was formed. "You're not on the same team!"

"We call it a temporary truce," Weiss replied.

"Not the most honorable," Orie said. "But effective."

"Oh man!" Makoto said. "Okay, Asuka, if they're playing dirty than so will we! We team up too!"

"O-okay!" Asuka said.

Both Weiss and Orie launched themselves forward, the water flying as Asuka and Makoto backed up! The respective opponents proved themselves remarkably fast as they were able to duck and dodge around all the oncoming attacks! But little did they know, a fifth member of this free for all turned tag team had arrived on the scene, ready to take advantage of it!

Yomi aimed her gatling gun at everyone, licking her lips as she was ready to take out the four standing in front of her! Sensing her presence nearby, everyone turned to her, jaws dropping in horror! "Sorry everyone," Yomi said. "But I'm afraid that I'm reaping the benefits of this circumstance."

She let loose a volley of water from her gatling gun, nailing each of them! However, they had released their own attacks, all of which nailed Yomi herself, the shinobi having not prepared herself in the event that they would be able to let out their own attacks! All five dropped, having all been eliminated!

Further up the beach, Ruby was still running like mad! She'd seen Weiss get eliminated, and was unclear about where Blake, Penny, and Yang were currently, and how they were fairing. But she knew she couldn't handle it now, and had to worry more about herself and eliminating whoever came upon her!

Saki and Chie were not making any headway with their battle, both taking pot shots against each other as they hid behind cover. Penny finally appeared around Saki, jumping from behind her! The Atlesian student washed Saki with her shower gun, before leaping over the rock and spreading water towards Chie!

Chie herself desperately tried to dodge around Penny's assault, which managed to put her right into Ruby's crosshairs! Ruby took aim and sniped Chie a few times with her own water gun, which caused her to stop, and get showered by Penny just for good measure! "Thanks Penny!" Ruby called out, still running at full peg!

"You're welcome!" Penny said.

As Ruby continued to run, she screeched to a halt as Yang collapsed in front of her, Scharlachrot having finally nailed her and took her out! Scharlachrot was still laughing like a psychopath as her eyes settled on Ruby! She ran and leapt over Scharlachrot before the Valkyria could attempt to attack her, landing directly behind her!

Hearing noises behind her, Ruby took a quick glance behind to see the fight between Heart and Homura closing in on her! As it turns out, coming in the opposite direction, Blake and Shirogane were coming in, having started up a fight between one another as well! Ruby felt her heart rate increase even more, as the fights were headed towards them!

"Ruby!" Penny called out! "We have incoming!"

Ruby looked over, as Penny fought off Yumi as they came in from the right side! Ruby gave a nod, as Scharlachrot aimed her gun at them! Ruby jumped up in the air, crossing paths with Penny, who let loose a volley on top of Scharlachrot, as Ruby came out from behind Penny to attack Yumi! Whilst Yumi was able to dodge around the attacks in midair, Penny's shots rang true and nailed Scharlachrot!

"No!" the Valkyria yelled. "Dammit!"

"Sorry," Penny said, landing beside Scharlachrot. "But I had to take my chance."

Ruby and Yumi continued crossing blasts as they ran and ducked around the ground! The water flew all over the place, nailing Blake, Shirogane, Heart, and Homura as they closed in! Even Penny got hit with a stray blast from the battle between the Gessen and Beacon students!

"No!" Homura said.

"How in the world!?" Blake said.

"Aw man," Heart said.

The water continued to splash around indiscriminantly as Yumi and Ruby were the last ones standing, neither one getting a clear shot as every ounce of ninja or Huntress skill was put to the test to have at least a single hit nail the other! Their motions had become so quick that they became nothing more than blurs of red and blue as they continued their onslaught!

Back on the hillside, the boys hadn't said a word for the past several minutes as they watched these scenes unfold! They had been so gripped by such a beautiful display of grace and skill, watching each combatant drop one after another! Now their attention was gripped, wondering just who would be the one to come out on top between the duel of the Frigidly Flowing Femme Fatale or Team RWBY's Rose Red!

Hyde himself felt his heart pounding in his chest as he watched the fight continue, barely able to track just where Ruby or Yumi were at the time, as they were moving so fast! "Come on Ruby..." he said quietly to himself. "You got this...!"

A bark from right next to him caught his attention, prompting him to look down and see Zwei sitting next to his leg, tail wagging in delight. Zwei barked again, clearly trying to get his attention.

"Uh, yes?" Hyde asked. "Can I help you?"

Zwei suddenly jumped up, getting directly in Hyde's face! The In-Birth cried out in surprise, attempting to hold Zwei back! However, his efforts only caused him to lean backwards away from Zwei's face, but fall into Yu and Jaune!

"Hey! Watch it!" Jaune said.

"Sorry!" Hyde said. "But this dog is-!" He couldn't even finish, as Zwei jumped out of Hyde's arms, falling right into Hyde's face, causing him to fall back into Jaune and Yu once more!

The three had already been sitting on the cliff edge, and with Zwei pushing them over, the Persona user, Huntsman-in-training, and In-Birth fell off the cliff and rolled down the sandy hillside!

"Woah!" Sun said. "Men down! Men down!"

"Sensei, Hyde, and Jaune are down!" Teddie said.

"Well," Kanji said. "Was nice knowing em'."

But he spoke too soon, as Koromaru howled directly behind the three of them! The three got startled by the noise to the point that, in their current position leaning over the cliff to watch as their comrades fell off, prompted them to jump off the cliff and pursue them! The ones remaining were Ren, Kurogane, and Neptune as they watched the others topple down the hill, before they turned to the dog who was looking happy at his progress!

Back down the hill, Ruby and Yumi were charging at one another once more, guns raised and ready to shoot once they had a clear shot! That is, until Hyde, Yu, and Jaune all rolled down in front of their path in a crumpled ball of limbs! The Huntress and shinobi both put on the breaks, stopping right before they could run straight into their friends!

"Hyde!?" Ruby said.

"Yu!?" Weiss said, upon seeing Yu in the ball.

"Jaune!?" Pyrrha added, after seeing very much the same of her partner.

"Uh-oh..." Hyde said. He gave a reproachful look to the dog, who was still panting happily. "You did this on purpose," he said angrily.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Yuzu asked.

"Uh..." Yu said, sitting back up. "For the record, we only had the intention of watching."

"Yu Narukami..." Weiss said, anger coming off of her in waves. "You mean to tell me that you three were spying on us!?"

"I-it wasn't just us!" Jaune said. "It was Teddie's idea!"

At perfect timing, Teddie, Kanji, and Sun all crashed right into the three other boys, causing them to end up in a similar, if bigger, ball of limbs!

"Sun!?" Blake said.

"Kanji-kun!?" Shirogane added.

Teddie pushed himself from the ball, eyes glancing around. "Hey!" he said. "How come you were concerned about everyone else, but nobody was looking out for me!"

"Is there anyone else we should know about?" Ikaruga asked, sword now in hand.

"Uh..." Hyde, Kanji, and the others said, before pointing back up the hill, where the others were still sitting.

"We should probably run," Neptune observed.

"Agreed," the others said, breaking into a run!

Next thing the boys knew, the girls all had their weapons drawn, a dark energy permeating off their bodies! "Any last words?" a good majority of them asked.

Most of the men present had had encounters with demigods and beings of darkness, but at that moment they knew that the phrase "hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" was a best summation of their current circumstances. The only thing they could think to say that might possibly make their punishment be any less severe was the obvious: "It was Teddie's idea!"

"Why do you forsake me!?" the bear himself asked, feeling the girls' turn most of their fury onto him!

* * *

Later that day, Hyde and Ruby were walking side-by-side in Kanzakai, the rest of Team RWBY next to them, and Weiss firmly hanging onto Yu's hand for good measure. "Glad we got little more than a fierce earful for spying," Hyde said, "rather than physical abuse."

"You two might've been immature," Blake said, "but we trust you more than the likes of Neptune, Sun, and Teddie. Same thing goes for Jaune, Ren, Kanji, and Kurogane."

"Speaking of Sun," Yu said. "You sure he'll stick to his punishment?"

"Forced to buy me lunch for a month?" Blake replied. "Oh don't worry. I'll make sure he'll pay."

"And same thing with Neptune?" Hyde asked.

"It's a bit worse for him," Yu said. "Because Chie won the coin toss and he'll have to provide for her steak habits."

"And what about Teddie?" Hyde added.

"Since he's the worst of all," Weiss said, "he'll have to work as an aide for the Licht Kries for over a month."

"Are you sure that's a punishment for him," Hyde asked, "or a reward?"

"Oh trust us," Yang said. "Half the things that the girls have in mind will have him swearing he'll never spy on a girl for the rest of his life. Namely because, they're gonna pass him off to Wagner every chance they get."

"Oh yeah," Hyde and Yu agreed. "That'll do it."

"I am wondering one thing," Ruby said, entering the cafe that the group was thinking to eat at. "Where was Yosuke? You would've thought he'd be there too."

"Well that's the thing," Hyde said. "We couldn't find him."

"Seriously?" Yang asked. "Doesn't Teddie live with him or something?"

"Well," Yu replied, "according to what he told me, Yosuke didn't show up after the New Year's Eve party. And Yosuke hasn't been answering my calls either."

The girls of Team RWBY looked to one another with somewhat nervous looks. "Uh..." Ruby said. "Don't you think that's... a bit of a cause for concern?"

Yu and Hyde shared a look, their eyes widening after a moment. "Now that you mention it," they both said simultaneously.

Suddenly, the Prince of Junes himself burst through the door of the cafe, running right over to the table that the group was sitting at and planted his hands firmly on there! "Guys!" he said. "You would not! Believe! What I have been through!"

* * *

To Be Continued.,,?

* * *

_**A/N: And there you have it folks! Probably the most requested chapter I've had in a while, is finally over! Now don't you worry, I already have a solid base for what's gonna/had already happened with Yosuke, so you can expect that sooner than this one, probably. As I'm sure a lot of you guys are wondering what happened to him, especially since Makoto was in this chapter hanging out with the girls, though Yosuke was still missing.**_

_**Anywho! I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter specifically that doesn't speak for itself. This chapter was a big action sequence that I had a lot of fun writing. Thinking of different scenarios between the girls, who would be where, it was a lot of fun for me to go through, and I personally hope that you guys enjoyed reading it. Most of the writing process was just letting my mind run wild, thinking of the different characters and where they go through, thinking of slowly but surely thinning the herd until the end!**_

_**Initially, the reveal that the guys were watching the girls the whole time was going to be somewhat different than what I actually wrote, but upon reflection, I realized my initial idea was actually not good. So, I broke it down and thought of something that would be more natural, if the least bit unoriginal. But, just as effective at serving the purpose I laid out for it, and I enjoyed that part just as much.**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To Mystech Master: As always, you have great suggestions. I honestly missed that detail about Teddie, or just never thought about it before, so that's something that I would actually enjoy trying out in the future. The other character interactions like Ragna and the others are really cute/nice and I'll be sure to keep them in mind too, and I'll be sure to dedicate a chapter in the near future between Mitsuru and Ragna as well, to flesh out their pairing since as of now, it's still in the minor attraction phase.**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Close Punches as a ship name for YangxAkihiko is really good! Everyone else should let me know what they think! Your comments on a potential pairing for Seth are really good. I think Akane could work, and nothing against Maori but I think she'd work better as a friend. I'll be honest tho, I think that Yagyu could work as a potential partner! I don't think she's so much antisocial or needs more friends, so much as she is just a bit of a kuudere, but given time to bond with Seth a bit she might be able to chill him down a peg, when finding somebody else to be dedicated to. He might even form a bond with Hibari and look after her, or try to help her get stronger! But as always, I'll let others give me some feedback on giving the sad boi somebody to be with! Do you guys think Akane, Yagyu, or even somebody else? Let me know!**_

_**To Naoto Redgrave: Yes. The whole time travel shenanigans is something I had in mind when I put that chapter out! But I failed to make a joke about it.**_

_**To Kicklash: Thanks for liking it! I'm glad you enjoyed. And I've wanted to put more Akatsuki Blitzkampf or Akatsuki En-Eins characters in this for awhile, but the problem is the original games are all in Japanese and as of now, I've totally been unable to find any translations to give me a real beat on how they interact. The most I have now are basic descriptions of characters like Mycale, Anonym, or Sai. Not how they actually behave and such. I've heard they're making an actual English version of the game, and if they are, expect more once it's released, lest anyone else knows where I might find a proper viewing of the characters in a comprehensible environment for me.**_

_**To Thee Guest: Glad you're all caught up! And that is a tempting chapter idea, and I'll keep that in mind.**_

_**And to the guest user who recommended more training to the Investigation Team, I hadn't thought about actually going so far with them yet, but I'll try that out in the future. **_

_**With that all said, thanks as always for reading! Expect more in the near future, I hope you have a wonderful evening, and I'll see you in the next chapter! Take care!**_


	40. Nuts and Dolts

**The Day Before the Peach Beach Splash**:

Penny Polendina was what many would deem as an "odd duck." She certainly wasn't unpleasant to be around, just a bit awkward and behaved oddly. It also wasn't like those more "normal" people who knew her didn't know some other weird individuals or those with their own quirks. But Penny was one of the few who at least had an excuse.

Little known fact was Penny was actually a robot, built by Remnant's Kingdom of Atlas, with the intention of finding an artificial means to generate an Aura. The only one outside of the people of Atlas who knew of Penny's true identity was Ruby Rose, who only found out herself by accident.

But in recent days, that began changing. With so many different worlds there were dozens of other robotic lifeforms like Penny. Initially, Penny thought she was unique, which left her feeling somewhat lonely, but now she knew several machines built like her. The ones that ere the most interesting were the Anti-Shadow Weapons designated as Aigis and Labrys, considering they could use something almost like an Aura, and lived very similar lives to her own in their extermination of Shadows and their role with the Kirijo Group.

It actually got to a point where Aigis specifically started to refer to herself as Penny's "Senpai."

"A... 'senpai'?" Penny asked. "I am unfamiliar with the term. What is this term unique to your world, Aigis?"

"It is a term for an upperclassman," Aigis replied.

"Oh~!" Penny said. "So like the Ace-Ops?"

"Correct," Aigis replied. "Since I am a more experienced robotic lifeform with my own spiritual capabilities and role for exterminating creatures of darkness, you could classify me as your senpai."

"Very well!" Penny said. "From here on, you are designated as Aigis-Senpai!"

All the same, while Penny was happy to have those she could finally relate to as a machine, she was still encouraged by her father to interact with more biological people, considering Penny's robotic form was still a secret to most other people. So today, she was flying around the border city of Argus on her prototype flight pack to find somebody to talk to. She figured it might take some time before she could find anyone of worth like Ruby, the Investigation Team, and the others in their "clique." But she didn't mind, as it gave her more time to fly around, which she was perfectly fine with.

While she flew, however, she quickly caugfht sight of somebody she recognized sitting on a bench, merely watching the activity of the city with a tired expression. She knew him as Yosuke Hanamura, a student of Yasogami High School in the town of Inaba in his world's Japan, as well as a member of the Investigation Team. She had only met him on a few occasions, not for a prologned period of time. But this could give her a chance to know him more!

Disengaging her flight pack, Penny dove from the sky towards Yosuke's location! She did a perfect "Superhero landing" right next to Yosuke, scaring the crap out of him as he screamed and jumped two feet in the air, falling out of his bench! "Salutations!" Penny said, turning and waving happily to Yosuke with a happy smile!

_Superhero flight technique, _Penny thought, _plus superhero landing! Hero status risen to 25%!_

"P-Penny!?" Yosuke gasped. "W-what the hell!?"

"Yosuke Hanamura!" Penny said. "It's a pleasure to see you!"

"W-where did you-?" Yosuke said, obviously wondering where she fell from. However, he didn't get the chance as Penny picked him up by the arms with no effort to put him back on his feet.

"I noticed your unease," Penny said. "So as your friend I have come to ask you what the matter is!"

"I-it's not that I'm uneased," Yosuke said, releasing himself from her grasp. "Well... I mean, I guess I am uneased. But not, like, sad specifically."

Penny tilted her head, as Yosuke sighed and sat back down on the bench, Penny sitting beside him. Her mind was naturally abuzz with questions or statements she wanted to make, but chose to remain silent as she recalled statements from the likes of General Ironwood and Miss Kirijo about the importance of talking less and listening more when interacting with others. So, she did as instructed, and listened instead as Yosuke spoke.

"It started on New Year's Eve..."

* * *

Initially, Yosuke had gone to the New Year's Eve party along with the rest of the Investigation Team, and simply had been mingling with everyone else as people continued filtering into the Iwatodai Dorms for the first five minutes or so. He was doing what he typically did at most intervals; talking and playing around with the guys, and taking a few shots at the girls, what have you. But the main thing that caused him to know something else was going on that night, was when the girls from Ragna's world showed up.

"Hey~ Yokee!"

Yosuke turned around just in time for Makoto to bound over to him and smile directly in his face! She was wearing her more "conservative" outfit with the black and orange coat, and the orange shorts.

"Oh, hey Makoto," Yosuke said, fairly nervous at her introduction. He still recalled the kiss on the cheek he'd gotten from Christmas when they were shoved under the mistletoe, and was nervous about what she mentioned to him in passing by saying "if you want more, wait til' New Year's."

He was nervous about what she might do to him, because he knew that his relationship with girls left a lot to be desired. But Makoto was one of the only people he'd managed to maintain a fairly, consistently positive relationship with. They talked regularly, even after that Christmas kiss the both of them texted back and forth practically every day.

Makoto was probably the closest thing he got to having a female best friend. But when it came to her it was hard to tell if she was messing with him or being serious about that "offer" considering the fact that she typically shot straight. She was the only girl that he knew that didn't mess with him or bust his chops every other day.

His nervousness came back as Makoto gave him a big old hug when she said 'hello' to him, straight up picking him in the air and laughing in delight! "Woah! Hey!" Yosuke said, unable to keep himself from laughing in turn as she hugged him, until she put him down.

"So, what've you been up to?" Makoto asked.

"Oh not much," Yosuke replied. "Just chilling with the guys."

"Cool!" Makoto said.

From there, the routine returned once more, with Makoto and the other girls filing around with games being played and chats about whatever was going on. But the weird thing was, Makoto never gfot far from Yosuke. She never addressed it or even said too much to him aside from pointing out a joke or something she just heard to tell Yosuke. But the Prince of Junes distinctly noticed her practically orbiting around him.

It was about twenty minutes after the party first started when Makoto nudged Yosuke in order to get his attention, about the third game of Mario Kart. "Hey Yokee?" she asked. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure," Yosuke said. "What's up?"

Makoto tugged on his arm and pulled him away from the crowd, before shaking her head towards the front door. "You wanna split?" she asked.

"Huh?" Yosuke asked. "W-what do you mean? You want to leave?"

"Yeah," Makoto said. "Are you down? I mean, I get it if you don't want to. I was just wondering if you wanted to hang out. Just the two of us."

Yosuke was baffled. He wondered why exactly Makoto would want to leave with him. Without Tsubaki or Noel.

"A-are you sure?" Yosuke asked. "You don't want to bring the others?"

"I'm sure," Makoto replied. "I already asked and they said it'd be okay if I bounce. Again, if you don't want to-"

"N-no, it's okay," Yosuke said. "I just... uh, let me check."

Yosuke checked with Yu, Chie, Yukiko and so on to see if it'd be okay if he leave, which they said it was. With that in mind, the both of them began to walk down the street, Yosuke tugging on his hoodie to fight off the cold. To his surprise, Makoto didn't even look the least bit bothered by the cold despite her outfit, while more conservative than her typical clothes, still exposed her midriff and most of her legs.

"So where are you taking me?" Yosuke asked.

"I have a few ideas," Makoto replied, offering a playful wink, before entering a skip in her step as she went on ahead. Yosuke couldn't help but smirk as he followed her.

Turns out, Makoto learned about a lot of fun hangout spots in Japan, despite not being a native of that world. She brought Yosuke to an arcade where they proceeded to play a number of games, competing against each other multiple times, and working together once or twice on other points. After that, they stopped off to grab a bite, before they later found themselves walking down the street once more, just taking their time to enjoy the cool night.

"So!" Makoto said, still enjoying her chestnut parfait. "Did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah," Yosuke replied. "I had a really good time."

"I'm happy to hear that," Makoto said. "I like making sure my friends enjoy themselves and have a good time."

The two were silent for a moment, before Makoto tossed her now empty cup into a trash can as she walked past, before taking a breath. She walked a few paces ahead before spinning around and facing Yosuke while placed directly in front of him.

"Hey Yosuke," she said. "I want you to be honest with me."

"Huh?" Yosuke wondered. "Okay. About what?"

"What do you really think of me?" Makoto asked.

"Huh?" Yosuke said again, now utterly baffled. "W-what do you mean by that?"

"I mean," Makoto said, "is there anything you don't like about me? Anything that makes you uncomfortable, or even hate?"

Yosuke felt his skin pale as he took in these words. "W-why would you even say that!?" he nearly shouted. "What are you talking about! You're great! There's nothing wrong with you!"

"You're so positive and cheerful! You have to be one of the most optimistic and friendly people I've ever known!"

"There's nothing you hate about me?" Makoto asked.

"Of course not!" Yosuke said.

Much to his relief, Makoto gave an honest smile upon hearing this. "I knew it," she said. Yosuke was baffled, as Makoto just kept laughing.

"S-sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to make ya nervous. I was just testin' ya."

"Wha-? Testing me?" Yosuke asked.

"Yeah," Makoto replied. "I remember the first time we hung out, after you fought that Mercury guy, where you said how you wanted to protect your friends. And ever since I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Yosuke felt his face heat up. Hearing the words "couldn't stop thinking about you" from a beautiful girl in front of him, with such a happy look in her eyes, it made his heart skip a beat. He couldn't think straight and just listened as she went on.

"Y'see," Makoto said, "I grew up pretty rough. Came from a poor family, dealt with a lot of racism and discrimination over being a demi-human. I tried to deal with it, and the only people I grew to trust were Tsubaki and Noel, because they were among the few who were nice to me in spit of this."

"I cherish my connections so much and want to be there for the people I love more than anything, in any way I can. Seeing the way you stood up to Mercury, saying how you wanted to fight for your friends and be able to protect them, it made me want to get closer to you. To spend more time with you."

"I used tonight to just see person to person how you are, just to be careful. And now I know that you're as good as I thought you were."

Yosuke felt his heart beat faster as Makoto stepped closer and locked their fingers together. "You're such a good person Yosuke," she said. "People may brush you off as immature and even dumb, but I see more inside of you."

"You're dedicated and really very kind. You met people like Blake or me, but you never judged anybody for their traits, but only for who they are as a person. And beyond that, you're always such a good friend and want to be there for those you care for. I... I love that about you."

"I know you've joked about finding a girlfriend, but maybe you should just slow down. You don't hav eto grab life by the horns all the time. Just take your time."

Yosuke now felt even more hit by this. "M-Makoto..." he said. "Are you... asking me to be your... boyfriend?"

Makoto still kept her eyes on the ground, but gave a light shake in her head. "I think you're a good guy, is what I'm saying," she said. "And I haven't thought about relationships before. But I'm willing to at least try something out."

"And I think you'd be a good guy to be with."

Yosuke felt his face turn radiant. He was at a loss for words. He genuinely didn't know what to say.

He had fantasies about this. But he never thought it'd actually happen, let alone with such a strong girl.

"I'm not asking for a yes or no now," Makoto said. "But at least think about it." With those last words, Makoto ran off, leaving Yosuke behind as he watched her vanish in the dark, just as the clock struck midnight.

* * *

Penny had been remarkably quiet. The descriptions Yosuke mentioned sounded very much like the romance movies Penny had seen thus far. yet for some reason, Yosuke was not as happy as Penny would have assumed, which baffled the robot girl.

"I just don't know if I'm good enough," Yosuke said. "I've had a crappy experience with romance and that can kill a guy's self-esteem. I guess for the most part I've just... given up."

"I mean Makoto's so nice and strong. What could I give her?"

Penny tilted her head to the side again as she looked at Yosuke. She recalled hearing Yosuke attributed with the word "resentment" yet his confident facade would have fooled anyone.

"Trust," Penny answered him.

"Huh?" Yosuke asked.

"You ive her trust," Penny said. "From what I heard about her, she lived a life with very few people she could ever bond with or talk to without them judging her for who she is. But from what Labrys told me, you're a very trusting person. You wear yourself on your sleeve. Makoto knows she can trust you, which as a demi-human, is the sure fire sign she can have you as a partner."

"And it's not like you're jumping right to marriage. It's customary to date first before commiting to true romance, yes? to see if you truly resonate with the person."

Yosuke looked at Penny with wide eyes. "Wow," he said. "Thanks Penny. That... that honestly helps me out quite a bit."

"Absolutely!" Penny said. "After all, what're friends for?"

"Friend?" Yosuke wondered, before he smiled. "Yeah. We're friends Penny."

Penny gave a big, bright smile. She was happy for the prospoects of having another biological friend, like Ruby. And Yosuke seemed like an ideal option, again, recalling how he bonded with Labrys.

"Perhaps," Penny said, jumping to her feet, "we can go on our own date!"

"Hubu-du-what!?" Yosuke said, face turning red.

"Argus is a wonderful tourist destination," Penny said, looking at Yosuke. "It has plenty of great locations for a date! We can have a date of our own to practice for your real date with Makoto!

"Hey!" they heard a voice say. "What's this junk that fell on my car!?"

"Or maybe not," Penny said, not dropping her smile as she kept eye-contact with Yosuke. "I will see you again, Yosuke! I look forward to hearing how your time spent with Makoto goes!"

"If you say so," Yosuke said. "Thanks again, Penny. I'm already feelin more relaxed."

"Happy to help!" Penny said. "And remember what I said. Easy does it. Don't jump straight to romance."

Yosuke gave another nod, as Penny sprinted towards the scene where her flight pack fell. As for Yosuke himself, he walked back up the road on his way. His head was held high this time around, a smile on his face as he had a renewed sense of confidence.

While he came out to think to himself for a time, Penny had really done her part in helping Yosuke feel better. Yosuke remembered Ruby mentioning Penny on many occasions and how nice and honest she was, and while Yosuke had only met her in passing once or twice, she was able to give him the confidence to tell Makoto that he would be willing to date her.

The resentment was gone and in place was a sense of pride. He couldn't help but smile, looking forward to the good things to come! That is, until he slipped on a patch of ice and went into a frontward dive.

* * *

Next thing Yosuke knew, his head was ringing and he felt a massive soreness in his skull. Everything felt like it was burning, as his vision was blurred and he couldn't help but moan in pain. As his sight focused, however, he was soon able to spot a big pair of eyes less than an inch in front of his face!

He jumped back, screaming in fear as the woman who had been watching him screamed in turn! As soon as Yosuke was able to spot he was not in any danger, he felt the pain explode in his head, and he was unable to keep from grabbing his head in pain, practically roaring at the feeling!

"W-woah there!" the woman said, reaching out to him. "You probably aggravated your concussion! Here, take this."

She held out some painkillers for him and he took them with a drink of water. He sighed as he leaned back on the couch he was previously laying on, as the woman sat next to him.

"Thanks," he said. "Uh... who... are you?"

"Oh, my name is Saphron," the woman replied. "You're one of Jaune's friends, right? Yo-something or other?"

"Yeah," Yosuke replied. "My name is Yosuke Hanamura."

"Well," Saphron said, "I'm one of Jaune's sisters. It's a pleasure to meet you. Although, I wish it were under better circumstances."

"Sister?" Yosuke asked. "Oh, right. I thought he said one of you were in Argus. Uh... now that you mentioned it, what happened to me?"

"Oh..." Saphron said, unable to maintain eye-contact with him for some reason. "Well, you see, I was walking past after grocery shopping when I saw you accidentally slip in the middle of the road and hit your head on the sidewalk. I ran over to help you and saw that you split your head open something good. Nearly lost a tooth too. Thankfully a doctor showed up and got you some help."

"Wait," Yosuke said. "I split my head open?" He felt his head, where sure enough a series of bandages had been wrapped around his head.

"Yeah," Saphron said. "I'm sorry to say it, but you messed yourself up pretty good. After the doctor patched you up, we brought you to my home to recover and... well, you've been unconscious for hours."

"Oh... I see..." Yosuke said, before he registered what he just heard. "Wait... hours!?" He looked outside, seeing that sure enough, the sun had set and it was now evening outside.

"Yeah," Saphron said. "But hey, at least you're awake now!"

Yosuke looked at the ground in a despondent sight. _Dammit, _he thouht. _I completely blew my chances of seeing Makoto-chan again._

"Well," he said, attempting to stand up. "I guess I should head back home." He stopped, however, as his head exploded in pain again!

"Oh no!" Saphron said, pushing him back on the couch. "You shouldn't go running off! Not in your condition! Not at this hour!"

"What?" Yosuke asked. "But... what about my home?"

"Just tell the truth," Saphron replied. "Let your parents know that you got hurt, but you're okay, and you're gonna stay over with a friend's relatives for the night. Let me speak to them as well just so they can hear from me personally."

"O...okay," Yosuke said, pulling out his phone. "Wait," he added. "Rela_tives_? Who else is here?"

"My wife of course," Saphron laughed. "She's out at work right now, but has been very adamant about making sure I was keeping an eye on you."

Yosuke raised a brow as he looked at Saphron. _Okay then, _he thought. _That _is _a surprise, but not like there's any problem with that._

Sure enough, Yosuke called his father to let him know that he would be staying with Saphron, wherein Saphron herself spoke to him to confirm that she would make certain Yosuke would be safe and fed for the night. After the talk, Saphron recommended that Yosuke not move around too much to ensure his head wouldn't be aggravated any more than it already was, and merely left him to rest on the couch. Eventually, her wife, Terra, arrived and introduced herself to Yosuke, making doubly certain that he was still in a stable condition, before he was fed and settled down for an early night's rest to let himself recover more.

Yosuke was rather touched by the concern that he got from these two and would have to remember to tell Jaune about how awesome his sister was. Once he awoke the next morning, he woke up just in time to wish Terra a good day at work, giving Yosuke signs that she was quite the busybody, leaving Saphron as the only one to keep an eye on Yosuke and give him the OK to head out for home. This gave Yosuke the time to see their son, Adrian, allowing the Prince of Junes the first instance in his life he could recall handling a child who was too young to talk.

Eventually, however, he was given Saphron's blessings to head out for home, but under a lot of instructions to make sure he would take care of himself. Yosuke made his promise, and left from Argus to take the decently long trek back to home in Inaba. All the while, he had his head held high once again. He felt that with the circumstances of the night behind him, he could finally head back home and get himself ready to see Makoto again.

He got back home, checked out his bandages, and eventually made his way back out on his bike to parts beyond! "It's a new day for me," he said, peddling along before he reached the crest of a hill! Wherein he found that his breaks were out again the hard way, as he shot down the hill before he crashed into a trash can!

He rolled over, before pushing the can off of himself. "And the more things change, the more things remain the same," he said, spitting out a bit of garbage.

* * *

Currently, Yosuke finished telling his story as he put his cup of calming tea on the table, where Team RWBY, Hyde, and Yu were all staring at him with wide eyes. They had been listening to him talk at a rapid pace for the past twenty to twenty-five minutes or so, as he did not stop talking about where he'd been since the New Year's Eve party.

"Okay," Weiss said, holding up a finger. "So you mean to tell me you've been in Argus since the party? Well where did you go during the day before you saw Penny? Where did you stay?"

"Oh," Yosuke replied. "I was home after the party. It was Teddie who didn't come back until the afternoon, I don't even want to know what he was doing that night, and only after I had already left. I think I passed by him on my way out when I went to go and do my... reflection."

"So you've been thinking about going out with Makoto-chan all that time," Yu said.

"Yeah," Yosuke said. "I was just wondering if I was good enough to go out with her. If I really deserved her and all that."

He felt somebody grab his arm, looking over to see Blake offering a kind smile. "I think you do," she said. "I've talked to you a lot about how the faunus have been treated on Remnant, and circumstances about the White Fang, and you've always kept an open mind. You don't misjudge anyone without good reason, nor do you discriminate an entire group of people for some such reason. I can understand why she would, and should, trust you."

"Same," Yang said. "You're a good guy, and I could see you two being together."

Yu smiled as he looked his partner and best friend in the eye. "Just trust in yourself," he said. "It's never steered me wrong."

Yosuke smiled, before Weiss spoke up next. "You're such a dolt," she said. "Why shouldn't she trust you? You're an honest person, and despite how frustrating you can be, you're too good at heart to ever do anything to hurt her. So just face reality and see what you can do for her."

Yosuke was stunned as he looked Weiss in the eye, smiling as he took in what she said. "That is the nicest thing you've ever said to me," he said.

"Well," Weiss said with a shrug, "I just couldn't stand to see you doubting yourself for no good reason."

Yosuke kept smiling as he set his cup aside and stood up from the table. "Thanks you guys," he said. "I was feeling good before, but I only feel better now. I'll see you guys around and let you know how things go."

"Good luck Yosuke," Hyde waved.

"Go get her buddy!" Ruby added.

Yu merely met Yosuke's eyes again and gave him a confident nod, which his partner returned as he made his way out the door.

"You think he'll be okay?" Yang asked.

"I think so," Yu replied. "Both he and Makoto-chan resonate too much in all the right ways. They have nothing to put against each other."

"They'll be fine," Weiss said, staring out the window and tracking where Yosuke went. "I know they will."

Yu smiled at Weiss sitting next to him, as Weiss herself gained just the slightest hints of a smirk on her face as she watched him go.

* * *

_**A/N: And with that said, the big reveal about where Yosuke has been is finally here! I hope you enjoyed!**_

_**This was the idea that I had from the get-go, upon realizing that I had been neglecting the Yosuke and Makoto pairing, which I chose to rectify. I figured I wouldn't beat around the bush and would just jump straight into the idea of having the two hook-up, but till keep it restrained to a degree like it was mentioned in the chapter itself, where they more or less are just taking things slow and starting out in the dating scene.**_

_**I did my best to convey Makoto's chararcter accordingly, and understand how she would operate, as she would be the one who would naturally be the one to open things up. Yet simultaneously, still had reason to be careful in light of everything that had happened to her as a demi-human.**_

_**Vice versa, I wanted to have Yosuke think about this himself, as he struggles to wonder if he was actually good enough to be in a relationship with somebody like her, and do some honest to goodness reflection behind it. It's only from support from his friends and a surprise meet-up with Penny that our boy realizes that he is good enough.**_

_**Speaking of which, I was criminally underusing Penny by this point, and I just brought her into the fold to act as a non-biased moderator to talk with. Plus, I threw in Saphron for good measure to explain a bit of the extra break in time where Yosuke was because it was the first thing I thought of and I found it really funny, and somewhat appropriate, that something like smashing his head on the sidewalk would happen to Yosuke after finally getting his confidence back! Nothing against Yosuke, I love the guy, but this is what happened!**_

_**I hope that this was a satisfying chapter to both explain what happened to our boy and why he wasn't present New Year's Day or during the Peach Beach Splash circumstance, and also to reignite the flames of the Yosuke and Makoto pairing. Let me know your thoughts!**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya; Glad you enjoyed it, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter to explain what happened to the boy! Also, good to hear your suggestion for Akane.**_

_**And on the same wavelength, to FadeShade; Glad to have your suggestion for Yagyu. And don't you worry, we'll have Sun and Seth team-up soon. Also, the idea of Bang getting 'disciples' is definitely an idea I could have fun with.**_

_**(So just to let you guys know we currently have 1 vote for Akane and 1 vote for Yagyu as Seth's significant other.)**_

_**To SolarS (who read Chapter 38): Honestly, even I don't know what happened there. And I wrote the darn thing! In all seriousness, that mental imagery of Mitsuru is great, and in terms of my favorite genres: Action/Adventure, Fantasy, and Romance (if you couldn't tell already).**_

_**To Jacob9594: Thanks! Glad you liked it!**_

_**To Mystech Master: Thanks for more context, and all of your suggestions are great, at the risk of not pointing them out in words, and I'll be sure to keep them in mind! As always, your feedback is appreciated!**_

_**To FightingFlash64: I actually suggested that in Chapter 38's A/N, about having a Q&A chapter! Or even a few! Or a separate fic for that specifically! So please, feel free to suggest any questions for the cast, and this goes for everyone, in the event you want to read a Q&A chapter!**_

_**To the guest user who mentioned Kanji x Naoto (S.): Yes, Kanji x Shirogane is still a thing, however I have just not taken the time to bring it up as I've mostly just been focusing on the X-Shipping with the exception of Black Sun, and even that one is to a slim degree as I have not focused on a chapter dedicated to that alone. And in terms of Teddie getting with somebody, I figure that could be possible. Personally I've resonated more with Katsuragi, but I feel Ryona could also be cute. Haruka might take a bit of work. And in terms of Labrys, honestly you could argue the same idea for Yukiko in terms of Teddie being attracted to her, so I'm not willing to bet on that. Let me know what the rest of you guys think!**_

_**To Will DeGrave: I'm glad I was able to surpass your expectations! And you're welcome for the shoutout. Thank you for helping with the weapon ideas. And while I didn't have Yosuke go to Neptune's world, although in hindsight that was a freaking epic idea XD, I hope this was at least satisfying to read and tugged at your heart strings. Your suggestions also sound really cool, so I'll be sure to keep them in mind. And sadly I have not finished Shinovi Masters yet, although I am on the last episode. Unfortunately classes have been keeping me in a bind and I haven't been able to enjoy myself as much as I have. I haven't even been able to play any games! But, hopefully things will slow down.**_

_**To Thee Guest: Yeah, a beach episode was an inevitability, and boy howdy having it get animated would be fun. I like your suggestions (although I like all the suggestions I get to some degree) so I'll be sure to note them. And hearing you say how you enjoy this story means a lot to me. Thank you very much and I hope to continue to entertain a fellow college student.**_

_**And to the guest user who brought up XBlaze: That is a very interesting concept in terms of having Es and Adachi meet up. And knowing how Es is arguably an agent of order whilst Adachi believes in full blown chaos, at least at one point, would definitely lead to a great dynamic.**_

_**So thank you all so much as always for reading! I hope you did enjoy! And by the by, I have a poll going on currently that you can see on my profile if you want to see me do a more story driven RWBY fic, asking for recommendations.**_

_**Let me know what you think, if you have an questions for a Q&A chapter if you'd like me to do one, feel free to let me know. And as always, have a wonderful evening and take care.**_


	41. AN Request For Help

"Hello readers. Eltnum here, assistant editor of Cross Tag Character Collision. The following chapter is a message by Ruby Rose on behalf of the author. With that said, I hope you enjoy."

* * *

Ruby Rose was sitting in the author's wheelie chair, her legs kicking out impatiently as she stared at the camera in front of her. She licked her lips as she looked at the lens. "Is it working now?" she wondered.

"Yeah," Ragna replied, sitting by the computer console. "So, why am I here again?"

"We get more negative backlash the less time you're on screen," Ruby replied.

"I feel that's an exaggeration," Ragna said.

"We'll see," Ruby said.

"Anyway, hello everybody! So, our author has come to report something he deems as being fairly important that he wanted to bring by you guys in the hopes of getting more feedback than he had in his Author's Note in the previous chapter."

"He needs help and responses. He currently has a poll going on that you can see on his profile page where you can make your vote in response to the question he's posed. To put it simply, it's you guys telling the author which series you would rather see as part of a RWBY crossover or novel series, hence why I'm the one reporting this."

"Yeah," Ragna agreed, "and not because you're his favorite character or anything."

"Quiet you!" Ruby said. "Ahem. Sorry about that."

"I won't bother saying which series we can crossover with, as you can check out the poll for yourself and cast your vote! But I will say, if you don't even want us to crossover with anything you can vote for that too!"

"This is mainly because of the number of requests our author has gotten in the past for writing a more plot-driven, ongoing series and our author's own hopes of writing something like this in the past. And since RWBY is, little known fact, a very big part of his inspiration for writing, he wanted to start with that. Namely in a crossover format since, that's also a big part of his early writing history."

"Now don't you worry! For those that wanted to see a more plot-driven series based on BBTAG, he still intends to do that too. But those are there, and this is here. If you catch my drift."

"Now it goes without saying, shilling out like this was something the author didn't want to do. But it's been over a week and he's gotten little to no actual feedback on that! So, this was our next best bet for getting some feedback."

"So once again, please cast your vote by checking out the poll on TheViewer-X's main page. It really would mean a lot and help our author out a lot to know what you guys would like to read."

"Mention the Q&A!" Ragna said.

"Oh, right!" Ruby remembered. "And if you guys have any Q&A questions, feel free to leave those in the reviews of this story."

"Thank you all so much! We really do appreciate your help! See you next time!"

* * *

**_A/N: She said it, not me._**


	42. The Great Valentine's Incident: Part 1

A/N: Before this chapter starts, a big shout-out goes to Mystech Master and Will DeGrave for their suggestions that helped me out when thinking about this and the next oncoming chapter! With that said, I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Heart Aino was a girl with one defining personality trait. That was, of course, her obsession with love. It was such an ingrained facet of her personality, it was a scientific impossibility for her to ever think of anything else.

As such, it didn't take a genius to figure out that her favorite holiday of them all was naturally the day dedicated to celebrate love and romance: Valentine's Day. Such an obvious fact it was, every one of Heart's friends knew that it would be dangerous to be around her, since that was the day she let all sense of restrictions fly and practically begged her friends to find somebody to call a Valentine. Having so many friends now after the Phantom Field incident, Heart knew that she was going to have to get at least a single couple together if she would be able to sleep that night. Half a dozen to feel satisfied. And about a full dozen to feel genuinely happy.

The only one from Heart's inner circle that had yet to experience the terrifying force of nature that was the Extraordinary Rare Maiden on Valentine's Day, was the Valkyria Weiß. The albino colored girl had actually been headed to Heart's bakery home that day in the hopes of baking something for Scharlachrot, Eko, and her other friends in honor of the coming holiday. Little did she know the insanity that would come next.

"Excuse me," Weiß said, entering the bakery. "Sorry to disturb you Commander, but I was just-"

"Wei-Wei!" Heart said, manifesting directly a few inches in front of Weiß's face, before grabbing her firmly by the shoulders! "Perfect timing! Get your butt over here!"

Suddenly, Weiß found herself tugged by Heart right over to the kitchen, everything becoming a blur of speed that would astonish even the likes of Linne or Ruby in terms of velocity! Weiß looked at a large assortment of baking goods sprinkled around, creating quite the mess around the counters and the stove, seeming that Heart was doing only the bare minimum to keep the place standing, but was totally inconsiderate towards everything else, not caring one bit for keeping basic cleanliness.

"Okay!" Heart said. "Here's what I got! So, with Valentine's Day coming, I'm gonna set up a great festival around the city! I am sure that I can cut a deal with Petra to close off a large section for us to have a party and get everyone else over here! We'll have a lot of games set up all over the place, it'll be like something you'd see in Golden Week!"

"But! Here's the important thing! We _**ne~ed **_to get some of these budding couples together!"

"So! I think that it'd be best if we maybe confer with some of the shinobi girls to set up a plan and get them to help us subtly nudge them towards each other! And then, push them into a lot of the games and activities around the area!"

"With the Valentine's Day season, I feel the power of Partinias coursing through me! There is no way that on that day of all days, that these couples won't finally blossom into a beautiful relationship of love!"

"What do you think!?"

Weiß had been keeping silent, more silent than usual, to listen to what Heart had in store. The exaggerated nature in which Heart was bouncing around like a chipmunk on a caffeine buzz was certainly entertaining, and at it's core not too far from normal for her, but the distinctly crazed look in her eyes was putting Weiß on edge. The Valkyria was concerned that she was actually going to have to knock out Heart if her ranting became too much for her to handle.

But at the moment at least, Heart was not hurting Weiß or herself. She had actually stopped talking and was standing in front of Weiß in a vain attempt to catch her breath, looking at the pale girl with a wanting look in her eyes.

Weiß held a finger up in the air and took a breath, before ascertaining what she should say. "Excuse me a minute," she said. She walked carefully into the main room, pulling out her phone.

* * *

Saki was walking calmly through the streets of the Kingdom of Vale, her scarf tied around her neck and a warm winter coat thrown over her shoulders to fight off the chill. It was much colder in Japan than it was in Vale, seeing that with their more futuristic technology, Vale was able to heat the streets and buildings. But, that still kept a seasonal coldness appropriate for the later half of Winter.

Sometimes, on occasion, she would need a moment to herself to think for some time. And in recent days, these few excursions were much needed.

Heart had gotten quite attached to the number of individuals that were met after the Phantom Field incident, and that certainly did make Saki happy. To see one of the only people that Saki truly cared about getting so excited to have so many new people to know. But that only made things harder for Saki when it came to interacting with them on her own.

Normally, Saki could be fairly cold and withdrawn, never really interacting with people in the wild. It was Heart that helped gave her an excuse to interact with people in the first place. But Heart was the only person that Saki ever really got close to. Even the other individuals in Heart's friend group like Kamui, Lilica, Weiß, Maori and so on, Saki had a hard time interacting with organically.

But with so many individuals met from the Phantom Field occurrence, with so many people constantly flowing and shifting in their interactions, Saki had a hard time figuring out what she should do now. What lengths she might have to go to in order to get close to other people and actually gain more people to be close with in her life. If that was even a possibility for her at all.

"Oh, Saki!" a voice from nearby said. Saki turned and saw Yumi walking over to her from nearby, wearing her own assortment of winter clothing. "It's been awhile!"

"O-oh, yeah," Saki said. "It has been some time Yumi. What can I help you with? Are you looking for Heart at all?"

"No, not at all," Yumi said, shaking her head. "I was just in the neighborhood when I saw you walking by. And so I was wondering if you would like to talk? Although, I'm not interrupting you, am I?"

"N-no. No," Saki said, shaking her head. "But... d-don't you have your other teammates with you?"

"No," Yumi replied, shaking her head again. "While they're typically not too far away, I do take a few occasions to go on my own."

Saki adjusted her scarf in a vain attempt to hid her face. "O-okay," she said. "I can relate to that. So, I'd be happy to walk around for a bit."

However, she didn't do so much as take a single step before her phone started buzzing. Excusing herself for one moment, she answered. "Hello?" she asked.

"Terribly sorry to disturb you, Saki," Weiß said on the other line. "But I am very concerned about what the commander is currently doing and am at a loss for what I should do to handle the situation."

"Weiß?" Saki asked. "Wait... you said the commander so... Oh no, don't tell me. You went to see Heart, didn't you?"

"Correct," Weiß replied. "I was just going to see her to get some pastries as gifts for the others in honor of Valentine's Day, when she began to make a great number of declarations that were not unlike those of a megalomaniacal supervillain."

"Yeah, I was afraid of that," Saki said. "That's why most of us who're friends with Heart know to beat it when Valentine's comes around. Look, try your best to look after yourself and I'll come over as soon as I can."

"Very well," Weiß said, before hanging up.

"Sorry Yumi," Saki said, turning back to the ninja. "But I'm afraid that I have to go. I have a Heart situation going on back home that I have to handle. You know how it is."

"Oh, of course I do," Yumi said. "If any of my classmates were up to no good I would do the same thing. Well, good luck."

"Thank you," Saki said, before running back home.

* * *

Unbeknownst to either Saki or Heart, two out of the four members of the Investigation Team were headed towards the bakery for a similar purpose to what brought Weiß there as well. Yukiko and Chie were headed to the bakery to get some sweets for their boys, and some of their other guy friends as well, in honor of the upcoming holiday.

"So what do you think we should do?" Chie asked.

"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked.

"Well," Chie replied, "I mean, do we just go with the basic stuff? Do we get different candy for each individual person? Or do we just go with standard chocolate for everybody? I mean it's not like we have any boyfriends or just boys we like in general to give some chocolate to."

"That's true," Yukiko nodded. "Rise made that explicitly clear when she was in the chat room last night, in reference to how Yosuke-kun was able to get Makoto-chan to ask him out, meaning that all of the guys on our team save for Teddie just about has a girl. Which leaves us girls as distinctly unavailable."

"Yeah," Chie said, "I remember she targeted us two specifically in that statement. I also distinctly remember that you, me, and Naoto-kun were very quiet so as not to break the hard truth to her about Narukami-kun and Weiss-chan, since she's still convinced that she and Narukami-kun are soulmates or something."

"Best she learn in her own time," Yukiko said, waving off the comment. "But I will say, I'm not really that worried about finding that 'prince' of mine as I used to be. But of course I still want to have a boyfriend and eventually a husband in the future."

"Yeah," Chie said. "That's what I'm thinking about too. But I'd be lying if I said that you were going to have as hard a time as I will."

Chie didn't really bring that up again as the two finished walking toward the bakery. As they did, they saw a familiar figure pacing rather agitatedly in front of the bakery. "Is that Blake-chan?" Chie asked.

"Hey! Blake-chan!" Yukiko called.

Blake screeched to a halt in place, her back facing the other two, before she spun around and saw the others with a face that distinctly looked less like a cat and more like a deer in the headlights. Both girls from the Investigation Team closed the distance between the two of them, the front door of the bakery standing between them still.

"What're you doing here?" Chie asked, a cheeky grin on her face. "Looking for something for a certain guy, are ya?"

"N-n-n-n-n-nothing quite so much," Blake said, stuttering worse than Murakumo when her mask came off. "I-I-I-I-I was just thinking. Thinking really hard as a matter of fact. And I've decided in that thinking that I think I won't stick around any longer. Goodbye."

She promptly turned and began walking away, prompting Chie to crouch in a pouncing position! "Not so fast!" she said. She leapt after Blake, wrapping her hands around the faunus's waist and cause the two to tumble into a ball on the ground!

"You can't fool us!" Chie yelled. "We know you're here looking for something for Sun-kun!"

"Chie, let me go!" Blake said.

"Don't go dodging the truth!" Chie said. "Fess up and I'll let you go!"

"Oh, Blake-san!" Yukiko said, hands up to her chin in delight! "It's totally okay! We don't judge! You know that, so be honest!"

Blake gave a sigh of defeat, head reconnecting with the sidewalk. "Okay," she said. "I was looking for something for Sun. Not anything full-blown Valentine related, but I thought that I should at least get him a little something so he knows that I care."

"What do you think?" Chie asked Yukiko. "Think that sounds genuine enough?"

"What's that about being genuine!?" Blake demanded. "You said if I admitted it, you'd let me go! So let me go already!"

"Okay, she's right," Yukiko said. "Let her go, Chie."

"Eh, fine," Chie said, letting Blake go and standing back up.

"Thanks," Blake said curtly, dusting herself off.

Before anyone could say anything else, the front door burst open, with Heart looking at them with hungry eyes! "Ah! Perfect! Get in here!"

She proceeded to get everyone close and shoved them into the bakery, Chie only having enough time to release a surprised "Woah there!" before the door shut behind them, and they vanished from sight!

* * *

Little known fact about Tsubaki was the fact that she was pretty infatuated with Jin Kisaragi, Ragna's mentally damaged, murderous, uncouth, and overall just a total douchebag that nobody else ever wants to be around, younger brother. So Tsubaki wanted to do something with the coming day to show that she cared about him quite a bit, and maybe, just maybe, get a bit closer to him. Mai, Noel, and Makoto always encouraged Tsubaki to be closer and act more social, and while trying to be social with Jin was the equivalent of attempting to breathe in space with no help, Tsubaki at least wished to do something like that soon.

As she got close to the bakery that Heart Aino lived in, she saw somebody appearing quite conflicted as he waited on the outside. She hadn't quite memorized their names since she didn't spend nearly as much time "hanging out" with them as the others, but she was still able to recognize him as a member of the Investigation Team; specifically the brutish, blonde haired guy.

"Excuse me?" she asked, tapping him on the shoulder. He jumped and spun around, face redder than Tsubaki's own hair.

"O-oh, hey," Kanji replied. "Y-you're name's Tsubaki, yeah?"

"That is me," Tsubaki replied. "And you're one of the Investigation Team members, yes? Forgive me, I haven't memorized your name."

"It's okay," Kanji replied. "M-my name is Kanji Tatsumi."

"Lovely to meet you," Tsubaki greeted. "I take it, you were here to see Heart Aino for very much the same reason I was?"

"I-if you mean lookin' for a gift for someone than..." Kanji began, before letting out a sigh. "Yeah, I was. But I can't make myself go in there. It's way to freakin' embarrasing! 'Specially when I finally give it to her!"

"I understand," Tsubaki said, giving a nod. "I have had... similar reservations in coming out to the man I find myself smitten by. But I know it will hurt far worse to not be genuine with him than to continue hiding the feelings and risk him drifting even further away."

Kanji looked rather impressed by Tsubaki's philosophy, watching as she made her way to the front door. However, Heart stuck her head out the moment Tsubaki was about to grab the door handle! "Perfect!" she said. "Get in here!"

Next thing they knew, both Tsubaki and Kanji found themselves being shoved into the bakery by Heart, the door slamming shut on an empty street for the second time!

* * *

Ruby was the next one coming along, walking calmly down the street towards the bakery as her mind was full static. She kept coming up with ideas as to what she might do for Valentine's Day invading her mind, before she scratched them off and would begin to contradict herself the next instant. The main reason she was even headed over to the bakery in the first place was because she had no idea what she was even doing anymore.

She knew that Chie and Yukiko were there, and the hope was that she might be able to get some advice as to what she should do next. But of course, as it had happened numerous times by that point, Heart opened the door before Ruby could even grab the handle! "In!" the Rare Maiden said, shoving Ruby inside before she could even tell what was happening!

Inside the bakery, a good nunmber of individuals were merely chatting amongst themselves, looking rather confused by their current circumstances. Among them Ruby spotted Tsubaki, Blake, Weiß, Kanji, and her targets in Yukiko and Chie. Ruby noted that Heart had rushed off back to the kitchen, leaving Ruby totally on her own without a clue as to what exactly the point of that was.

Seeing one of her teammates, Ruby approached her first. "Uh, Blake?" she said. "What exactly is happening?"

"Heart's lost it," Blake replied. "Well, if she ever had it to begin with." Ruby merely looked confused.

"Since Valentine's Day is around the corner," Blake said, "Heart has gone full-blown overdrive in an attempt to make the holiday perfect."

"Oh... no..." Ruby said.

"Yes, that's what we're all thinking," Tsubaki said, standing beside Blake. "So most of us, namely Blake and myself, have been trying to keep her calm and not cause a disaster."

"Well... good luck with that," Ruby said. "Cause' I was on my way here for one reason, and I see them over that way."

Ruby left Tsubaki and Blake alone, as she made her way over to Yukiko and Chie. "Hey you two," Ruby greeted.

"Hey Ruby-chan," Chie greeted. "Man, can you believe Heart-chan?"

"Honestly, I could," Ruby replied. "She is a bit obsessed with love, if you couldn't tell."

"Yeah," Chie conceded. "Anyway, what's up?"

"Well..." Ruby said, thinking over what she might say, before she just ended up throwing in the towel and bowed in front of the two of them! "Please help me!" she said. "You both know so much more about this kinda thing than I do and I have nowhere else to turn!"

"Whoa, hold up," Chie said. "What're you asking Ruby-chan? Just so we're clear."

Ruby stood back up straight. "I need help" she said. "Valentine's Day is around the corner and I'm utterly clueless as to what I should do!"

A great number of clattering and crashing noises emanated from the kitchen, before Heart burst from the door with a look of sheer desperation on her face! "Tell! Me! Everything!" she demanded.

"Hey! Easy there!" Ruby said, fending off the Rare Maiden as she tried to get uncomfortably close to Ruby's face! "I don't have a _specific _guy in mind!"

"It's just... I know a lot of boys now, more than I've ever known in my life, all of them being pretty close to me. You got Jaune, Yosuke, Hyde, Yu, Kurogane, Sun, just to name a few. They're all very good friends to me and I don't know what I should do wit hthe holiday around the corner. Do I just avoid them, or do I do something for them? I've never really celebrated Valentine's Day altogether before now."

"What a waste!" Heart yelled. Ruby was stunned and let out a confused, "eh?" before Heart went on.

"One more time. What a waste!"

"Ru-Ru!" Heart said, grabbing Ruby by the arms. "You can't just go by without embracing the day of love!"

"We must rectify this!" Naturally, Heart had her own ulterior motives, given that Ruby was one of the primary targets of hers for her Valentine's plan. She still hadn't forgotten about her promise to Ruby about finding the Rose Red a boyfriend, and you didn't need to be a self-proclaimed love expert like Heart to see that Ruby and a certain Unknown Actor had an attraction to each other.

"E-easy Heart!" Ruby said, trying to get out of her grasp. "I came asking for help from Chie and Yukiko because they're more... relaxed?"

"Whatever do you mean?" Heart asked, actually confused.

"Don't worry Ruby-chan," Chie said. "We were already going to do something for Valentine's Day for the guys, so let us help you out."

"Correct," Yukiko said. "First of all, you don't have to only give things like chocolate to the boy you like. You can give chocolate to people you don't have a crush on too. Even girls."

"Ah! Thank goodness!" Ruby said in relief.

"Secondly," Yukiko said, "there's actually different kinds of chocolate you can give. First you have what's called Giri-choco, which is a quick, ready made chocolate you can give to people you care about."

"But then you have Honmei-choco. These are the ones you give to those you really are in love with! Typically they're expensive, fancy, or homemade. If they're homemade or not also bears significance."

"Oh~!" Ruby and Heart said at once.

"Eh?" Yukiko wondered.

She was surprised as they were all looking at her with wide eyes and eager expressions!

"Yuki-Yuki knows so much!" Heart said.

"Yeah Yukiko!" Ruby said. "You're so smart!"

Yukiko giggled, a bit of a blush creeping on her cheels. "Well," she said, "when I was younger I did a lot of research."

"Say!" Heart said. "We should all make chocolate for everybody!"

"Huh," Blake said, meeting her eyes with Tsubaki and Weiß. "That... actually sounds pretty sweet."

"Exactly!" Heart said. "That way I can even more subtly push the couples together without anyone knowing!"

"Huh?" everyone else wondered. Heart looked around, a sweat drop appearing on her forehead.

"None of you heard that," she said.

"All the same," Tsubaki said, "Heart's suggestion sounds good. Perhaps we can all work together on that."

As the girls continued to converse, Kanji stood on the corner waiting to himself. He wasn't the most comfortable being the only guy in the room, as all the other girls continued speaking animatedly to one another. However, salvation soon arrived as he got a call on his phone.

"Hello?" he answered.

"Kanji. Need your help. Now," Sun's voice on the other line said.

"Huh?" Kanji wondered. "Sun-senpai? What's up?"

"We got a situation," Sun replied, "and need your help asap."

"What's the situation?" Kanji asked.

"It's Seth," Sun replied. "I need your point of view to help him."

"Really?" Kanji asked. "You need my point of view?"

"Yeah," Sun replied. "Just help me with the little nutball if you could."

"Okay," Kanji said. "I'm on my way."

After Kanji hung up, he did his part to try and excuse himself, receiving help from the likes of Blake and Chie to do so, as Heart was very adamant about him staying. Soon enough though, he took his leave, and the girls continued to work on making chocolate for the upcoming holiday.

* * *

**Later That Same Day:**

* * *

Saki finally ended up finishing the long trek from the Kingdom of Vale toward her resident Japan, before arriving at the bakery. As she arrived, she saw the familiar face of Weiss Schnee standing in front of her, walking towards the bakery from the opposite side of the entrance.

"Hello Saki," Weiss greeted. "Here to see Heart, are you?"

"Yes," Saki replied. "Weiß called me and said that she was losing her cool a bit. How about you?"

"Oh," Weiss replied, not matching Saki's gaze. "Just here to pick something up."

Truth be told, Weiss had previously ordered some sweets to be prepared ahead of time that she would give to her teammates, as well as a few to her closer friends outside of her team like Pyrrha, Hyde, and of course Yu.

"Alright then," Saki said. "Let's head in and... hope that you can get what you're looking for without trouble."

Well, sure enough there was trouble. As the Arcana user and Huntress-in-training entered, they both could not believe what they were seeing. The entire kitchen interior had gotten positively coated in chocolate that was sliding or dripping from the ceiling or walls. And of course, as if she were actually surprised by this, Weiss found her partner and leader was at the center of it, along with Heart herself, plus Chie, Tsubaki, Weiß, Yukiko, and Blake of all people.

The sight was enough to make Weiss have to repress a loud exclamation, something that Saki could easily pick up on, as both were wondering what could have possibly happened here to cause such a disaster. And while Weiss could voice this question, at the moment she was just struggling to keep her temper in check.

Here she was, just coming to pick up some preordered treats for the upcoming holiday and of course something like this happened. Ruby noticed her teammate's rage coming off of her, giving little more than a nervous chuckle in response. "H-hey Weiss," she said. "Uh... I can explain."

Weiss continued her steady breathing. "Talk. Now," she said firmly.

"We were on a date!" Heart said, licking chocolate from her hand.

"It was not a date!" Chie said, before slipping on some of the dripping chocolate and falling flat on her face!

"What else would you call it?" Tsubaki asked, wiping chocolate from her dress.

"Well..." Yukiko said, rubbing her head. "We were trying to help some of these guys out..."

From there, they did their part to try and explain the situation that had happened prior that afternoon to the heiress, who was doing her part to be patient as she listened to what they had to say. "So let me get this straight," Weiss said. "You managed to do this - _this! _\- just by trying to make chocolate for the others?"

"Y-yes, that's the gist of it," Tsubaki said, attempting to stand up, only to slip and fall again.

"In all fairness," Blake added, back against the counter as a brace while she removed her filthy bow, "those like Tsubaki, Weiß, and myself were trying to keep Chie and Yukiko from killing somebody with their ingredients, which left those like Heart all-but unrestrained."

"Just be thankful Noel wasn't here," Tsubaki added from the floor. "Or else we'd without a prayer."

Weiss whistled to get their attention once more! "How did you even do this much!?" she demanded.

"Well..." Heart replied. "First we were just making enough chocolate for the boys. But then we thought, 'hey! What's stopping us from making some for each other, or our girlfriends too?' So we added more. And then we thought about our other friends and teachers like Mitsuru-san, Aigis-san, Ragna-san, Petra-san, Qrow-san. And then-!"

"Okay! Okay! Enough!" Weiss said. "I get it! Your list just kept getting bigger and you had no sense of restraint!"

"I'm sorry Weiss," Ruby said.

"Well it's not like we can discipline you for this," Saki said. "And they did have the best of intentions," she added specifically to Weiss. The heiress herself sighed, resigned to that statement.

"True enough," she said. "It's just... weird. Let's just see if we can get this place cleaned up. Then maybe we'll see if we can continue making that chocolate without any more catastrophes."

Agreeing that was fair enough, the girls got to work cleaning the kitchen. Once the place was totally clean, with Saki able to better keep Heart relaxed than anyone else, they were able to begin creating chocolate for the entire crew.

Still having plans for the rest of that afternoon, on top of having wasted enough time as it was with helping clean up the kitchen, Weiss got the preordered food from Heart, the Extraordinary Rare Maiden acting appropriately repentant.

"Sorry for bugging you, Wei-Wei," she said.

"It's okay," Weiss replied. "Just please... when it actually is Valentine's Day, don't spaz out like you did here?"

"I'll... try," Heart said.

"And that's all I ask," Weiss replied, before turning and taking her leave.

Eventually, the group finished their chocolate, having made enough to satiate everyone no doubt. They broke off different groups of chocolate for as many individuals as they could think of. A few members of the group took a few of their chocolate piles with them; Chie and Yukiko taking their chocolate for the rest of their team, Ruby and Blake taking some for their teammates and other close friends like Team JNPR and Sun and Neptune, etc. and Tsubaki took her chocolate for her friends from the military and such.

As they took their leave, Heart once again listed off a great number of apologies, saying how she was sorry for being a bit overeager. The others were naturally alright with her, saying that there was no reason for her to be so sorry, before they left. However, even as they left, Heart was still pleased with herself for being just the slightest bit cheeky.

For you see, she left a few specific labels on some of the chocolate for a few of the individuals. The amount of chocolate that had to be made naturally required multiple pots to be prepared, and Heart did her own on the side that was meant for a very special reason.

Unbeknownst to the rest of the group, she had made some of that "special chocolate" that Yukiko had mentioned for a few specific individuals. And nobody would be any the wiser until the partners that she had listed out had already received their presents.

The success of her scheme was enough to cause the pink haired girl to nearly laugh maniacally. But she would certainly wait to revel in her success until she saw everything all come together on the holiday itself.

* * *

**Epilogue: A Few Hours Ago.**

* * *

Kanji arrived at the place where Sun had told him to meet up at, seeing that the monkey tailed faunus was chilling on a bench with Seth himself in the middle of Kanzakai. Seth looked disinterested, as per general, while Sun looked a little tired.

"So..." Kanji said. "What's going on guys?"

"Oh, hey Kanji," Sun greeted. "Perfect timing. The problem here is that Seth is being antisocial... still."

"Oh really?" Kanji asked. "Wait, why do you need my help with that?"

"Cause," Sun replied, "Valentine's Day is coming obviously, and I've been hard pressed to convince this guy to hang out with us."

"Well," Kanji said, "while I can understand that given Seth's behavior in the past, why are you trying to force this? You know he doesn't have to if he doesn't want to."

"Which is precisely," Seth added, "what I've been trying to tell him for the past forty-five minutes."

"Hey," Sun said, "you stay out of this. This isn't about you."

"Then what is it about, you idiot?" Seth demanded.

"Anyway," Sun added, "I was hoping you could help with some advice."

"Why me?" Kanji asked.

"Because," Sun replied, "you're not the biggest social butterfly of them all, but you're at least willing to try and interact with others. So maybe you can help give him some perspective?"

Kanji looked at Seth, who still looked like he would rather be anywhere else at the moment. The Gentle Beast took a breath as he sat on the assassin's left side on the bench, leaning back against the rest. "Well," he said, "why exactly are you against it?"

"What do you mean?" Seth asked. "I'm against 'hanging out' with you all because it's pointless for me. I'm an assassin of the Night Blade. I live by my mission. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Well," Kanji said, "that sounds like a pretty lonely existence."

"Perhaps it is," Seth replied. "What's your point?"

"All I'm saying," Kanji said, "is that I lived kinda like that for awhile myself."

This actually prompted Seth to raise an eyebrow. "Really?" he asked. "You don't seem the type."

"And at my heart, I'm not," Kanji replied. "But for awhile I tried to be. For a bit of time, I pushed everyone else away and purposefully made them afraid of me. I tried making myself out to look like this bad guy so that way people wouldn't try to mess with me. But that changed after I met my senpai."

"Now I got people I can be close to and learn from. And I've only met more of them since then. I realized that trying to keep everyone else away from me was a really stupid idea and there was no reason for me to be so afraid of other people."

"So what's so special about you that you can't even let yourself have a few friends?"

Seth looked at the ground, appearing quite thoughtful over what Kanji had said to him. He'd thought about that quite a bit in his life. To what extent did his mission constitute him being away from others in life? But every time he thought about it, he always came back to the same reason.

"I can't allow it," he said. "I don't deserve it."

"And why is that?" Sun asked. Seth was silent in reply.

"You know," Sun said, "Blake thought a bit like that at one point." He smirked proudly as this obviously got Seth's attention.

"At first," Sun added, "she didn't really have the intention on getting close to the rest of Team RWBY. She kept to herself and never really let a whole lot of information out. But you know what changed?"

"What?" Seth asked.

"She got friends," Sun said. "Friends that were willing to break through and learn about what exactly it was that she was so afraid of, whether she wanted to or not. Because at the end she _needed _to, and they knew this."

Seth looked at Sun in the eye, a silent understanding coming between the two. "Okay fine," Seth said. "If you insist. But don't expect me to go hounding somebody like that plush doll."

"We wouldn't," the others replied.

"And that's not what we're asking," Kanji added.

"All we ask," Sun began, but Seth cut him off.

"Is at least to try," Seth said. "And I will. But I make no promises of actually opening up at all."

And that was enough for both Kanji and Sun to accept. The willingness to try. And despite his overall reluctance and expectancy for no major revelation to come, the Unseen Assassin would experience something that would certainly lead to a major "investigation" to be had in the future. But that's another story.

To Be Continued...

* * *

_**A/N: Hey there! So, we got Part 1 of a 2 Part Valentine's Day chapter! Yeah, I had a feeling from the get-go that this was probably going to be a multi-part chapter, and wouldn't you know it, we got exactly that. Okay, to be fair, this probably didn't **_**need **_**to be a multi-part chapter, but I figured that'd be easier and have a bit more coherency, considering that this chapter is most of the set-up for the holiday itself while the next part will be more of the overall payoff. So you can look forward to that in the future. ;)**_

_**As for this chapter, I had a lot of fun writing out Heart's psychotic energy in this chapter! I mean, anyone with half a brain could figure out that this love addict would be so excited to celebrate Valentine's Day! Not to mention she is the resident shipping maniac, so it's obvious that she would attempt to get everyone together! Not to mention, those trying to just celebrate the holiday in a fairly unassuming manner would end up getting a bit overwhelmed by her high energy!**_

_**I did try to work in a bit more characterization about Saki and Seth, with Saki getting a bit more detail about her own social awkwardness, and Seth for more of a direct reason why he tries to avoid everyone else. But outside of that, I think the chapter overall speaks for itself. **_

_**With that all said and done, I do hope you enjoyed! And like I said, stay tuned for the next chapter where we get the real holiday celebration! Hopefully pretty soon too!**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**Before we really get started, I would just like to start out by thanking those of you who have left questions for the cast! They've all been great and I will release a Q&A soon!**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Yeah, after having some serious procrastination issues starting up RWBY Vol. 7, I realized that I'd been neglecting poor Penny Polendina this whole time, so I figured I should try getting her some more focus, and figured she'd be a good non-biased source for Yosuke to confide in. And, yeah, it's just his luck he'd end up having some difficulty getting the ball rolling, but he should be all-good soon.**_

_**To FightingFlash64: No argument here. All the Investigation Team must be protected at all cost.**_

_**To both Sonny and James since you both had similar questions: honestly, the whole "punishment" thing had really just been a one-off joke to explain how the girls got back at the guys for spying on them. If you really want, I may do a full chapter explaining what happened, but again, only if you guys would really like to see it, in which case, I'll do my best!**_

_**To SolarS: For the comment on Ch.39, don't you worry. Since I believe in karma, both Kanji and Hyde won't end up getting hurt at any point. (Also those water weapons sound epic.) And as for Ch.40, yeah I figured Penny would operate more as an unbiased source, not being as overwhelmed by emotions like anxiety or embarrassment as "organic" beings. And I agree on both Yosuke and Makoto being sweet beans! XD**_

_**To Will DeGrave: As usual, you got some good suggestions! I am curious about what would lead Mercury to being called in of all people, but I'm sure I can think of something. **_

_**To Mystech Master: That whole "acclimation" idea will certainly find its way in at some point. It gave me a great idea in the near future. ;)**_

_**To dragonofhellsflame: I have had the suggestion of having Ozpin and Linne meet since they both have similar operations in terms of reincarnation. So you can rest easy knowing I'll get to that as soon as I can.**_

_**To james: I can't deny that idea of Team RWBY learning about WWI and WWII is an interesting idea, but upon a bit more reflection about it I realized the big problem with that is that it falls into a fairly sensitive political/historical realm that leaves me feeling like I'm not qualified to write out something like that. It's very similar to the suggestion that I got before about Hyde being revealed as a transgender boy, where I just don't know if I am capable of writing something out like that without the risk of offending somebody. I mean, for corn's sake, the demigod himself Kohei Horikoshi author of My Hero Academia got vehement backlash for naming the scientist villain "Maruta Shiga" as a reference to Japan's infamous 731 human experimentation, which got to the point of Horikoshi actually being forced to write an apology. (Look it up, it's a batcrap insane controversy.) Now in a similar vain to the whole guys' punishment, if there is enough requests for it, I may as well write a chapter about it. But in the meantime, despite most of these series taking place in worlds based out of reality, things will just be kept in the realm of escapist fiction.**_

_**And finally, to the guest who suggested the prank tournament: That is a suggestion that could have terrifying and hilarious end results.**_

_**To finish up, I do have a few more announcements to make. For starters, I would like to thank those of you who have voted on the poll I had on my page about writing a more plot-driven RWBY based crossover story, the feedback I'd gotten have made me very satisfied and I'm gonna close it up soon, since things have sort of petered out for a time, with the #1 choice being none other than the previously mentioned My Hero Academia! In fairness, I felt this was appropriate as I had even asked you guys in the past about that series in general, so I think it's fair these two get combined. I will have to do some thinking about it in the future, but I have already been thinking about what I can do with that idea. And if you guys have any suggestions, feel free to PM me about it. (Namely because I don't want the reviews of this series to end up becoming a message board for a totally separate story! XD)**_

_**Aside from that, in the near future this story will end up becoming a year old. It's crazy to think that this series has been posted up for a year now, so with that in mind, after the Valentine's Day story is done, I will be doing an anniversary chapter combining a bunch of "shorter" ideas into a single space, before following up with the Q&A chapter as another celebration part, which I feel will be appropriate.**_

_**And after that I'll be doing some "spring cleaning" on my page; officially scrubbing my less than favorable stories, including my piss-poor first story, and TOWBB before I come back in with a newer, and hopefully better version of that, as well as updating my profile, and even going back and correcting some errors on my older chapters to make them look "cleaner" for new readers. **_

_**So until then, thank you as always for reading, let me know your thoughts, and just thank you all for sticking with this story and enjoying it so much! It really does mean a lot to me. Until next time have a fantastic evening, and take care!**_


	43. The Great Valentine's Incident: Part 2

A/N: Before this chapter begins, I would like to formally apologize for not releasing this chapter on Valentine's Day itself. As cliche as it is to say again, life gets in the way and made it difficult for me to complete. All the same, with that said, I do hope that this was worth the wait. Also, I at least got a set-up chapter released before the holiday so just let me have that one! XD

* * *

If there was one thing that the girls had all agreed upon as the holiday that had long since been awaited by that point, Valentine's Day, finally arrived, it was to make sure that one Heart Aino remained calm and civil during the day. Saki Tsuzura as established prior to this, was not one who readily trusted others with just about anything with the very rare exception of Heart. However, in such an occasion where Heart herself was losing her marbles, high off the mere potential of love in the air, Saki was willing to make an exception to ensure that Heart did not find herself being punished by any authority figure for things she may be forced to do.

Henceforth, she gathered up the rest of Heart's standard clique with the inclusion of Akane, Lilica, Weiß, Kamui, Konoha, Maori, plus her newer friends of Chie, Yukiko, Noel and her group, Team RWBY, Orie, Mika, Asuka, and Yumi. All of them were there with the same basic mission in mind: To make sure that Heart did not go balistic.

"Okay everyone," Saki said. "Are we all clear about what we're doing?"

"Quite," Yumi replied. "We make sure that Heart-chan is not going to do anything that could run the risk of bringing injury to herself or anybody else."

"That is correct," Maori said. "Be aware, however, while it might not seem like a hard goal on the surface, Heart can be a bit... exagerrated with her loving nature."

"Nice play on words there," Lilica pointed out.

"Well," Chie said, "if the other day was anything to go off of, I think we all know that Heart-chan can be quite wild. So it shouldn't be that much worse, yeah?"

"You never know," Weiß replied. "That was just Heart anticipating the day itself. Who knows what she might be capable on the actual day."

"That is a good point. But I think we can handle whatever Heart hads to throw at us. I mean, how bad could it actually be? It is just Heart after all."

"I think," Scharlachrot said, having naturally followed Weiß, "that is exactly a reason you should be afraid. It's the commander you're talking about here."

the others all gave each other a lookj.

"That's a good point," they collectively agreed.

Before long. they all turned a corner on the street leading directly to the bakery where Heart lived. They were in the version of Japan that Heart and all the other Maidens lived in, in the hopes of ensuring that Heart would not trouble anybody. It was fairly early in the morning, with a distinctive chill in the air forcing everyone to wear extra layers to stave off the cold. But as they turned the corner, they all saw something that ,made their blood turn to ice.

They saw a large number of streamers strung up between the buildings on either side of the street, accentuating the massive holiday banners that hung up overhead, with labels advertising "Happy Valentine's Day!" A bunch of stands were lined up with different games and candies or pastries of every festive manner you could think of! Absolute waves of pink and red were everywhere the eye could see, and there was a certain warmth from all the lights and the different ovens heating the food, definitely a contrast from the cold and inhospitable environment that the girls were in not a few steps away.

It didn't take a genius to figure out exactly who was responsible for all of this. And sure enough, not a moment later, the one responsible appeared. "Hey you guys!~!" she cheered. "You like it?"

"Like it?" Asuka said. "More like we're mortified by it!"

"How did you do all of this by yourself?" Noel asked.

"How else?" Heart asked. "A lot of effort!"

"That doesn't really explain anything," Chie replied.

"Well," Heart said, "I did a lot to make sure that everything got ready! Nothing can stop you when you're fighting for the sake of love!"

"Does love really defy the laws of physics?" Kamui asked.

"Don't be silly!" Weiss said.

"Heart," Yumi said, "what happened to your hands?"

Heart held up her hands, which were covered in a bunch of band aids or bruises. "I got a little overboard," she said.

"You're not hurt are you?" Saki wondered, checking Heart's hands cautiously to ensure that her friend wasn't really hurt.

"Nah," Heart replied. "I'm fine! Like I said, love fixes everything!"

"That's not an excuse for hurting yourself you dummy," Saki said. "Please be careful in the future."

"Okay, Sa-Sa," Heart said. "Sorry for spooking you."

"I must say, Heart," Ysubaki said. "I am impressed by the amount of work you were able to manage on your won. Typically you seem a bit... distracted to accomplish such a task."

"Well," Blake replied, "like she said. Love can make you do things."

"But there are so many stands," Yumi added. "Are you meaning to tell me you're going to handle all of this yourself?"

"Of course!" Heart said. "With everyone else coming here to celebrate, I'm going to make sure that everyone has a great time!"

"You can't handle it all by yourself, Heart," Saki said. "You will need more help."

"Wait," Ruby said. "Are we going to be helping her with this?"

"Only if you so choose," Saki said. "I'm determined to help her. And can I presume everyone else will help her as well?" she added, referring ot the others from her world. They all gave a nod, save for Lilica and Scharlachrot, the former who was looking around nervously.

"Hey hold on," she said. "I never agreed to that."

"But you know," Weiß said, "we did come here to help her and keep her out of trouble. In any way we can."

"Ugh," Scharlachrot said. "I hate it when you make sense."

"Same," Lilica added.

"Well," Orie said, "I can't deny there is a certain appeal to the idea of helping in a situation like this. What do you say, Mika? Do you want to help out the others as well?"

"Oh," Mika said. "Well, I guess it could be fun. Okay! I'm willing to go down!"

"We'll help too!" Noel said, with Tsubaki nodding behind her.

"Well," Ruby said. "If you guys are going, we should too, right?"

"I don't think that'll be necessary," Saki said. "We have enough here. The rest of you can enjoy yourselves until everyone else gets here."

"That's a good point," Makoto said. "We'll see ya all later!"

"Don't let Noel anywhere near the cooking appliances!" Asuka barked, causing the Calamity Trigger herself to mewl in distress.

For several minutes or so, the group of girls familiarized themselves with the area so as to ensure that when the "guests" arrived, they would be welcomed to a real treat. Sure enough, Heaert's friends did their part to listen to instructions that the Rare Maiden recommended they do, but also did their part to ensure she was at least partially restrained in her requests.

Heart certainly didn't mind the extra help or guidance. She was always appreciative of her friends, and took their recommendations with weight. Truth be told, she wasn't that worried about putting things into place for the festivities itself to get the couples she wanted together. She had already done the majority of what she had to a few days prior by giving the girls that secret chocolate for the guys.

The festivities were really just something to have a bit more fun. Something akin to a party in honor of the holiday. And something that everyone, no matter if they are being shipped to a couple or standing out on their own, could enjoy.

As much as she would prefer nudging things in the right direction, she knew that she would have to stand idly by and hope that she did enough to get things going the way she would prefer.

* * *

Sure enough, not long later, most of the others showed up, all of them taking in the sights before them. Ragna was there, Heart having begged him to show up. And as much as Ragna would have naturally decided not to have anything to do with this, the amount that Heart was annoying him before he finally gave in and agreed to come was enough to drain away any sense of him getting peace with her pestering him that much.

Ergo, Ragna showed up and arrived about the same time as most of the others. Valentine's Day was not a day that he was real privy to. It was Jin's birthday and that was such a blatant thing in his head it was hard for him to ever enjoy the day as what it's more universally recognized as.

For that matter, it was hard for him to enjoy it in general given that Ragna was not exactly somebody who often looked at romance. Given his inherent nature or lifestyle, however you choose to look at it, romance was basically something that he tried to avoid. So with Heart having called him here for an obvious purpose, he wasn't exactly down for whatever it was she had in mind.

This only became that much more ingrained in his head as he saw the layout that Heart had established in the middle of the street around her house. Ragna did not drop his stoic expression, though he did raise an eyebrow, before letting out a tired sigh. "Yare, yare, daze," he said.

"Hi Ragna!" Heart said, suddenly manifesting behind him.

"Hello pink menace," Ragna replied sarcastically. "So any particular reason why you called me here?"

"Why else!?" Heart replied.

"It's Valentine's Day!" Heart said. "And we're gonna make everyone so happy!"

"I don't like happy," Ragna replied. He was kidding, of course. Though Heart's exuberant energy left drained much of his own energy far too much.

Noel he could handle. Ruby he could tolerate. But Heart was something else entirely. Her nature that was so utterly bizarre, even to those from her own dimension, honestly gave Ragna the impression that she came from her own personal reality where the populace had sugar in their blood, and chocolate for brains.

"Ra-Ra!" Heart snapped. "This is serious!"

"I fail to grasp the seriousness of the situation," Ragna replied.

Heart bent over backwards, groaning dramatically. "Please Ra-Ra! Please!" she said, getting on her knees and clasping her hands together.

Ragna rolled his eyes. However, upon taking a glance at Heart's pathetic expression, he gave another exasperated exclamation. She was just lucky that Ragna had a soft spot for innocent, cute young girls. (Don't take that outta context you sickos.)

"Pray tell," he said, "exactly what did you have in mind?"

Heart smiled and jumped up to her feet! "Okay!" she said. "I need you to help nudge some of the couples together. I already gave the girls gifts for the guys ahead a time. All ninja like, you know. But not a literal ninja like Asuka or Yumi, I mean more like, all being sneaky like so they wouldn't notice."

"Yeah, I gathered," Ragna replied. "But what couples are you talking about? I don't know almost anybody here that's in a real relationship."

"Duh!" Heart said, knocking on her own skull for emphasis. "I mean the obvious ones! Wei-Wei and Yu-Yu! Shi-Shi and Kan-Kan! Ru-Ru and Hy-Hy!"

"Say there name's in full," Ragna said, "or else I'll have even less of an idea about who the hell you're talking about!" He emphasized by gently chopping Heart on the head.

"Oh, right," Heart said. "I mean Weiss and Yu, Shirogane and Kanji, Ruby and Hyde! You know, the obvious ones!"

Ragna sighed once again. "I'm not going to help you in your quest," he said. "Just leave them alone so they can move naturally."

"No!" Heart declared. "Not today! Not today of all days! I'm already doing more than enough by keeping back in the first place, since Sa-Sa and the others won't let me do anything! So I need you to act as my middle man!"

"I don't want to be your middle man," Ragna replied.

"Please!" Heart said, dropping to her knees and holding her hands again.

"Stop doing that," Ragna said. But once again, his will was drained as he saw Heart in such a pathetic state. "Fine!" he said, submitting to defeat again. "Just please stop with that already."

"Thank you Ra-Ra!" Heart said. "Like I said, the girls already have the marked chocos I offered them. So just nudge them in the right direction! I owe you one!" she turned and ran back to where she left Saki, before the girl in question could throw a tantrum.

"For this," Ragna called behind her, "I deserve, like, fifty!" He merely stood in place watching the pink haired girl run off, before he began massaging his brow and wondering just what exactly he got himself into.

* * *

"So," Hyde said, observing the set-up that Heart had laid out for them. "What exactly are Heart's super powers again? I'm just asking as I'm still trying to comprehend exactly how it is she did this all entirely without help."

"From what I've gathered," Yu replied, rubbing his chin as he joined the In-Birth in analyzing the layout, "nothing that could conceivably account for this."

From nearby, the rest of the guys (ie; Sun, Kanji, Kurogane, Neptune, Jaune, Teddie, Ren, Yosuke, and a very bored Seth. Not sure if this needs to be elaborated, but it'll happen regardless) were playing a couple of the games lining the road, as the two level-headed boys were just struggling to understand all of this.

Not far away, one Weiss Schnee was looking at them, her face as red as her partner's cape as she did her best to muster up the courage to walk over there. "Okay," she said. "It's totally fine. They're right next to each other, so there should be no problem at all. It's not like you're targeting one for a particular reason or anything. Nope. This is all strictly platonic. Not romantic in the slightest."

She was gripping the box that Heart had given her. She bit her lip as she felt like she was about to suffer an aneurysm at any moment! Her hands were clammy, sweat was pouring off her brow, and her heart was actually hurting in her chest!

"Oh!" she said, stomping on the ground in frustration. "Why is it so hard for me to do this!?"

"Hi Weiss," she suddenly heard. She yelped in surprise and jumped in the air, before realizing it was just Asuka standing in front of her!

"Asuka!" Weiss cursed. "Don't do that! You scared the living daylights out of me!"

"Oh, sorry," Asuka said. "I just saw you having an episode and was wondering if there was anything I could do to help."

"No," Weiss replied, shaking her head. "At least, not particularly."

"What's up?" Asuka asked, tilting her head to the side a bit out of curiosity.

Weiss bit her lip. She didn't want to admit how awkward she was feeling at the moment. But simultaneously, she wasn't that close with Asuka, so she could potentially trust her as an unbiased source. Any of her teammates or those within her social circle would just mock her, she was sure of it. She finally relented, preferring to just have somebody to talk to about this in the first place.

"I'm just struggling with this situation," she replied. "I've never really celebrated Valentine's Day in any capacity and now that I can, I am far too awkward to handle the situation well."

"Really?" Asuka asked. "Are you trying to ask one of the guys to be your Valentine?"

"Certainly not!" Weiss said, spooking Asuka just a bit. "I'm just giving candy to all of them... But even that's far too embarrassing for me to go through!"

Asuka smirked and raised a brow. "It really shouldn't be," she said. "I mean, you said it yourself, it's not like you're being romantic about it. It's just a courtesy. I mean, it certainly looks like Ruby's not having any trouble."

Weiss perked up as she turned to see Ruby walking over to the guys with her own box of candy at that same moment! "Oh no!" Weiss said. Determined not to be outdone by her leader, she shot over to the scene, leaving Asuka to merely laugh in her wake.

Meanwhile, Ragna was standing off to the side of the group of guys, merely thinking about how he was going to approach the situation. He had already "accepted" this task from Heart and was just doing everything in his power to consider exactly how he was going to approach the situation. However, he saw Ruby and Weiss approaching them at that moment. All the best for him. As it gave him less work to do.

"Hey Kido. Narukami," he said, catching their attention. "Look's like you both got company."

Both boys turned to see the girls coming closer, which prompted them both to come to a collective halt a few feet in front of them!

"Hey you two," Yu greeted warmly, waving to them, with Hyde complying with a nod of his own.

"Hey there guys!" Ruby greeted, Weiss unable to meet their eyes, as she found herself frozen in place again, silently screaming at herself for even daring to do this.

"What's that you got there?" Hyde asked, looking at the boxes they were holding.

Ruby snuck a glance at Weiss, seeing her partner's embarrassment clear as day. So in return, she decided to do her a solid as she replied. "Well," she said, "Weiss and I decided to each get you guys some chocolate! As sort of a celebration for being so awesome!"

"It's a talent," Yu replied dryly.

"But we appreciate the gesture all the same," Hyde said, catching Narukami's sarcasm.

"What's this I hear about chocolate?" Jaune asked, suddenly making his presence known from behind the other two. Ruby laughed as Weiss let out a scoff at the blonde's antics.

The two Huntresses-in-training handed out their candy to the guys, making it apparent this was all strictly platonic once again. Ruby did her best to take Chie and Yukiko's advice about just being relaxed about it, despite the fact that a bit of a blush was visible on her face. Weiss on the other hand was full own tsundere mode, short of saying the standard "it's not like I like you or anything!"

"Did you two make these yourselves?" Ren asked, savoring the flavor of his chocolate.

"Well... kinda," Ruby replied. "It was sort of a group effort on our part between myself and the other girls!"

Kanji choked the next moment, just about gagging upon hearing what Ruby said as the other guys all froze still as statues! "Don't worry," Ruby added, "we didn't let Chie or Yukiko do just about anything. And Noel was nowhere to be found." That caused the guys to visibly relax and sigh in relief, Kanji catching his breath.

"Well," Hyde added, "it's awesome you were all able to do this."

"Does this mean we can expect the other girls to show up and offer us something soon?" Neptune added.

"Eventually," Ruby replied. "Probably."

Weiss gave a nod, before she looked over at the Kingpin of Steel she'd had plaguing her mind pretty much all morning. She hadn't given him his gift yet, as she offering sweets to the others was hard enough on her psyche. But, finally, she managed to work up the courage to approach him.

Yu himself could tell that something was bugging her, but was doing his part by acting patient around her. The one thing he'd learnt about Weiss was to let her come to you first, as she would get frustrated far too easily if you moved too fast.

"H-h-here Narukami," she said. "I-I got you one as well."

"Thank you Weiss," Yu replied. He analyzed the chocolate she gave him, spotting something a bit more curious about it when compared to the rest.

Something he noted was the chocolate that the girls had handed out were all darker chocolates, but the one that Weiss just handed him was... well, white. Not to mention, there was also a very visible heart engraved in the center of it. He would have brought it up, but Weiss had already ran off almost at a full sprint, slugging Yosuke in the chest with something as she ran past!

"What the heck was that all about?" Yosuke wondered, looking at what Weiss had given him with a raised eyebrow.

"I have an idea," Yu said, smirking at the heiress's antics.

"Hey," Kurogane observed, "how come you got white chocolate?"

Yu looked at the candy in his hand one more time, still smiling. "No reason," he added mysteriously, before taking a bite and savoring the taste.

Yosuke was still confused, taking another bite out of the candies he had as he looked at the package that Weiss had handed off to him. It was a wrapped up gift, with a tag on the top that read: "Have you asked her yet, you dolt? Give this to her! You owe me one!"

Yosuke didn't have to be as observant as Shirogane to tell what Weiss was telling him. He delivered his own smile off in the direction that Weiss had ran off to, as he slipped off the tag, revealing a second one that read: "For Makoto Nanaya."

As he took his leave from the rest of the group, Hyde and Ruby were both looking with wide eyes in the direction Weiss had bolted for. "Is she okay?" Hyde asked.

"Honestly," Ruby said, "sometimes stuff like that is just normal for Weiss."

"True," Hyde added.

"Anyway," Ruby said, "I should go after her. U-uh, here's your chocolate Hyde," she added, handing him his gift, as she ran off!

"Okay, see ya!" Hyde said. He smirked as he took a bite of the candy that he was given. But that's when he picked up on something.

He raised a brow as he realized that the flavor of the chocolate that Ruby had given him was different than the one that Weiss had given him. He took another bite from the one Weiss gave him, before comparing it to a bite from the one Ruby gave him. The flavor of Ruby's was a bit more... potent?

He didn't really know why that was, however. True, Ruby said she made hers whilst Weiss had added at one point she had Heart make hers for her, but they shouldn't have been that different? At least to the extent Hyde was picking up on.

"What's with that face, little brother?" Sun observed, mouth full.

"Maybe Chie-senpai and Yukiko-senpai did do something to your chocolate?" Kanji asked nervously.

"It's not that," Hyde replied. "They're both fine. Really good actually. But something about Ruby's tastes a bit... different?"

"Really?" Jaune asked. "I didn't notice anything different between the two. At least not that much."

"Huh," Hyde wondered, now even more baffled with that info in mind. He noticed something directly to his left, before he jumped in shock as he noticed Teddie was sniffing the chocolate in his hands! "T-Ted!" he said, bopping the bear-costumed...thing in the head! "What is with that!?"

"Oh, sorry," Teddie said. "I was just smelling your chocolate to test what might be the difference."

"Really?" Neptune asked. "Well what did you find?"

"Oh nothing~" Teddie said, a devious smile on his face.

"Well that didn't sound convincing," Kanji said, voicing what everyone else was thinking.

Truth be told, Teddie was able to pick up on the differences in the chocolate that Heart had ensured to include. Being the wannabe hopeless romantic that he was, Teddie was very well aware of the practices that were typically done in Japan for Valentine's Day, revolving around the preparations of Giri-choco and Honmei-choco, and could tell that the one Ruby had just given Hyde was Honmei-choco, not Giri-choco like she had given everyone else. Plus, he didn't even need to test Yu's to tell that it was a very similar case.

While he would be lying if he said he wasn't at least a bit jealous, he couldn't deny that this was a very interesting development. One he would have to observe in the future.

* * *

Not a few minutes before all of this, one Rise Kujikawa sensed a great disturbance in the air. So much to the point she slammed the counter of the game stand she had just been at with Orie and Noel! "Something is terribly wrong!" she said.

"R-Rise!" Orie said. "You startled me!"

"Seriously," Noel added. "What happened?"

"I need to look into this!" Rise said, bolting off without any sort of explanation!

Orie and Noel merely watched her go, both rather baffled by this. "Uh," Noel said, "should one of us go after her?"

"Good point," Orie said. "I'll follow her."

The Executor did as told and followed the diva as she arrived at where the guys were located. Silent as the dead as she sneakily watched from behind a corner, she saw as Ruby and Weiss were handing out their chocolate. And sure enough, she saw Weiss hand Yu her very _distinctive _chocolate to her leader and senpai, which caused the diva to just about crack the corner she was hiding behind with her grip!

"W-w-w-w-w-w-w-what does that Ice Queen think she's doing!?" she demanded, startling Orie something fierce! Rise knew clear as day from the number of messages that Weiss had sent the rest of the Investigation Team in terms of interacting with Narukami that the heiress had something of an attraction to him. Which was very problematic since the idol was very clearly infatuated with him as well, and had made a case for ensuring that everyone knew she effectively "claimed" him as her own. This didn't go onto the levels of Rise acting hostile towards Weiss, but she did have some self-imposed rivalry with her for Narukami's affections.

"S-something wrong, Rise?" Orie asked.

"No duh something's wrong!" Rise said. "That little Ice Queen just gave my senpai a special chocolate when he's supposed to be with me!"

Orie tilted her head to the side in confusion. "Isn't that his choice?" she asked.

"W-well," Rise stuttered, "he should be with me! I've been trying for way longer to have Yu-senpai be my boyfriend, and he's never rejected me at all! Of course I'm waiting for him to say 'yes' or 'no', but Weiss has no right to step in when he hasn't even given me an answer yet!"

Orie bit her lip as she knew fully well that this was going to be a hard conversation. It was pretty obvious that one of the main reasons why Narukami had never replied to her infatuations was he was just too polite to bother turning her down. That or he was just so oblivious he never actually realized it, but that was up for debate. Either way, Orie was now struggling to come up with a proper response.

"W-well," Orie said, "technically there isn't really anything stopping Weiss from trying to win him over either, is there?"

"No," Rise admitted. "But, I mean, haven't you been frustrated by seeing Ruby-chan getting so cozy with Hyde-kun lately?"

"H-huh!?" Orie said, face reddening. "W-why would I care about that!?"

"Come on Orie-chan," Rise said, "all of the girls know that you've had a crush on Hyde-kun."

"Aino told you, didn't she?" Orie asked.

"Having literal power of love comes in handy," Rise said snarkily.

Orie sighed. "I mean," she said, "yeah, I did have feelings for Kido. But after he found out I was a member of the Licht Kries and I discovered his alignment with the Night Blade... I dunno. I guess we just sort of had a falling out."

"It doesn't show," Rise said.

"Not really," Orie replied. "I mean there's no legitimate bad blood between us, but, I guess you could say... he has his life and I have mine. And there's no intermingling between the two. We're simply just at odds with each other now and that sort of makes any relationship quite difficult."

"But doesn't it still hurt you to see Ruby-chan clinging to him so much?" Rise asked.

"Well I would be lying if I said it doesn't hurt a little," Orie said. "But I know that it would be cruel of me to try stepping in and imposing my own desires over Kido's own. If he does end up wanting to be with Ruby or another girl entirely, who am I to get in the way of that?"

"Being a member of the Licht Kries just makes relationships in general very hard. I've had to lie to so many people about who I really am and where I come from. That's why I'm so happy to have all of you, who know me and have befriended me for who I really am. And while I would like to be with a man who would truly love me for me someday, it'll have to happen at its own pace. In the meantime, the Licht Kries comes first, and Kido simply just does not apply."

Rise scowled, finding that way of life very upsetting to hear. She did want the best for Orie, but if that was her way of thinking there was nothing Rise could do to change that. But for the time being, Rise was more concerned with returning to what she had been complaining about in the first place.

"Well," she said, "what do you think about me and Narukami-senpai then? Do you think he applies with me?"

"Of course I do," Orie said. "But like I said before, it's his choice whether he wants to be with you or Weiss. And I think if you're really serious about him, caring about his feelings, you'll do what I did with Kido and respect his wishes, and allow him true happiness. No matter what he decides."

Rise aimed her gaze at the ground. She knew Orie was right. Of course she was right. Orie was just smarter than Rise was in so many ways, the Persona user was able to see that even without Himiko.

If Rise really did care about Narukami, she would let him be happy with the person he chose. That was the sign of true love. Making sacrifices for the person you cared about. Even if they hurt.

"I suppose you're right," she said. "But just know, I'm not going to give up anytime soon. Until I get my answer, I'm gonna keep trying."

"I wouldn't expect any different," Orie replied with a laugh.

"But I suppose in the meantime," Rise added, "I should explore my other options, yes?"

"Huh?" Orie wondered.

"And," Rise said, grabbing Orie's hand, "you're gonna come with me!"

"W-wha-huh!?" Orie said, face turning red.

"I mean," Rise said, "just cause' you fell out with Kido-kun doesn't mean that no guy here will pick you up! Like they say, 'plenty of fish in the sea'!"

"Rise, wait!" Orie said, but it was too late. Rise tugged Orie along behind her towards the group of guys!

* * *

Ragna was still stuck in a rut. Despite Ruby and Weiss giving their gifts to the guys that Heart was hoping for, even without Ragna's help, that still left him with far too many things left to do. The most he could hope for was that a very similar set of circumstances would happen without his input. And thankfully, it looked like Yosuke would be a very similar case, as he was walking with a definite skip in his step towards where Ragna was sure Makoto was hanging out.

"Hey Hanamura," Ragna greeted, catching up with the Prince of Junes and keeping pace with him.

"Oh, hey Ragna-san," Yosuke greeted. "What's up? Enjoying the Valentine's Party?"

"Not particularly," Ragna replied. "But it can't be helped. Looking for Makoto?"

Yosuke's face reddened. "Guessing Ruby-chan told you I was into her?" he asked.

"Hard to get her or her sister to shut up," Ragna replied. "So yes. Yes, you can infer that they told me."

"Gotcha," Yosuke replied. "Well, yeah, I was looking for Makoto-chan. I was hoping to use this as my chance to officially ask her out."

"Got it," Ragna replied. "Let me get her for you."

"Wai-huh?" Yosuke wondered.

"Look," Ragna said, holding up a hand. "Before you ask anything, just know that today is gonna be another long day, and just take the help I'm offering you."

"O-okay," Yosuke replied. "Uh, thanks Ragna-san."

"You're welcome," Ragna replied, walking over to where Makoto was located. Sure enough, he found her having an animated conversation with Mai, Yang, Katsuragi, and Murakumo.

"And I'm telling ya," Makoto replied, "that Barbados was east!"

"No, Makoto," Yang replied, "like I told you about eight times by now, Aki told me that Barbados is south of Miami!"

"But that's not what I'm even sayin!" Makoto replied.

"Then what are you trying to say?" Mai asked.

"What I'm saying is" Makoto began, before Ragna tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, smiling at the Bloodedge. "Sup Ragna?" she asked. "Can I help you?"

Ragna merely gestured over his shoulder, pointing where Yosuke was now currently pacing, attempting to hype himself up. Makoto's smile lit up as she saw him nearby. "Thanks," she said, rushing off without another word.

"Oh boy," Yang was all Yang could say as she ran off.

"And the climax of the romantic saga approaches," Murakumo said wantingly. Katsu nodded beside her, hands gripping eagerly.

"Both of you restrain yourselves," Ragna said firmly. "I got enough to deal with without having to keep people like you two away from them."

"We make no such promises," Katsu replied, until Ragna grabbed the hilt of his blade, causing them both to surrender on the spot!

Back with Makoto, she jumped over to Yosuke, offering an eager "Hi!" that startled the boy something fierce!

"O-oh, hey Makoto-chan!" he said. "Glad you could make it! I mean, I guess we were both here regardless of this. I meant more like-"

"You wanted to see me," Makoto replied.

"Y-yeah!" Yosuke said. "That." They were both quiet, Makoto obviously waiting to hear what Yosuke wanted to tell her, but at the moment the poor guy's head was frying. After a moment, Makoto decided to jumpstart it by nodding slowly at him, which did its job and triggered him to remember why she was even there!

"O-oh, right!" he said, Makoto giving a good natured laugh. "S-so," he said, "I uh... you said awhile back how you would be okay if, you know, if we both went out? Like, on a date?"

Makoto nodded again, being patient and quiet as he went on. "Yeah," Yosuke said, "well, I took some time to think about it. You know, we've spoken since then obviously, but not, like, we didn't bring that up at all." Makoto continued to nod, merely letting Yosuke get to his point.

"I guess," Yosuke said, "kinda like you back then, I was just sort of waiting for the right opportunity to talk to you about it. To give you my answer and I decided that was now. So!" He took a deep breath to steady himself, before he handed out the gift Weiss handed him for Makoto.

"I would be happy to go on a date with you, Makoto. A few dates, actually. And see how things go."

Makoto gave a giant smile at that. She walked over and hugged Yosuke around the neck, Yosuke hugging back. They separated and Makoto took the gift Yosuke handed her. "Thanks Yosuke," she said. "I promie ya, I'll be good to you."

"I'll do the same," Yosuke said. The two gave a laugh for a second, before Makoto's tail suddenly bapped Yosuke in the side.

"Oh, sorry!" she said, brushing it back. "A little excited there! You know how it is, all wagging and stuff! Well, maybe you don't. Y'know, no demi-humans on your world."

"I get the idea," Yosuke said, laughing all the same.

Makoto laughed in turn, opening her gift, where her keen senses went on high alert! She smelled the distinctive scent of chestnuts in the candy that Yosuke handed her, causing her to salivate at the scent. Actually, there were a few other distinctive nuts in the candy he gave her, causing her heart to begin doing triple axle backflips!

"Uh, Makoto," Yosuke said, waving a hand in front of her eyes. "You okay? Your eyes just dilated there."

Makoto's tail hit him again hard enough to actually knock him closer to Makoto, allowing her to give him a kiss on the cheek. She laughed as the Prince of Junes was left utterly speechless by the intimate encounter! "If you keep that up," Makoto said, pulling out a candy, "this will be easy sailing!" She popped the candy in her mouth as she playfully moved along. Yosuke smirked confidently as he ran after her, the two continuing their conversations as a Valentine pair.

Around a corner, the rest of the Investigation Team (sans Rise) watched them go with tearful eyes!

"Finally!" Yukiko said.

"Yeah," Chie said. "Though Hanamura-kun can be really dumb, they deserve each other!"

"Kanji?" Shirogane asked. "You okay?"

"I'm so happy for Yosuke-senpai!" he said. "He finally did it!"

Narukami was silent as he watched them go, a warm smile on his face. "Go get her partner," he said quietly. "You got this one."

* * *

"Three down," Ragna said. "Three left to go," he added, giving a heavy sigh. Initially, he was under the impression he would have been done by now, but Heart had a nasty habit of just appearing out of nowhere and changing the job for him. Now he had to go about and also pair up the likes of Kanji and Shirogane, Blake and Sun, and most frighteningly of all, Tsubaki and Jin.

He knew it was a threat to the entire city if he got anywhere near his brother, but thankfully the douchebag was not going to arrive until a little bit longer, so that gave Ragna time. In the meantime, he just had to shove the other two pairs towards each other, then ensure Tsubaki would be ready until Jin got there, which would allow the Grim Reaper ample time to run for the hills.

Thankfully, Kanji and Shirogane were never that far away from each other, so that gave Ragna the leg-up he needed to pair them up. Question was... how? As far as he knew, they didn't have anything to give each other.

He took a breath as he realized this one was not going to be as easy as the past few. He walked over to the Investigation Team as they continued praising Yosuke's confession, as the Bloodedge tapped Kanji on the shoulder. "Hey," he said, "can I talk to you?"

"Uh, okay," Kanji replied, allowing Ragna to lead him aside.

"Listen," Ragna said, "I don't really want to do this to you, but I was just wondering for a... friend, if you were gonna do anything with that detective friend of yours?"

Kanji's face turned radiant the next instant, before Ragna held up a hand to stop him from saying anything. "It's just," Ragna said, "I was wondering. Today is kinda the day to do something like this so... perhaps you should at least try? Give a few hints or something? I dunno. I'm not really into this thing, so I was just wondering for the sake of my friend."

Kanji attempted to speak more, before he doubled over in a defeated slump. "I don't know either," he said. "Talking naturally with people is hard enough without it bein' somebody I like. Every time I think about it I just go nuts."

Ragna groaned as he rubbed the back of his head. He could tell that Kanji was a good guy and was just nervous, but that didn't particularly help the Bloodedge at all. It wasn't any of his business really, so he was just butting in where he didn't belong.

This was gonna be too hard. He just needed to at least try and get the ball rolling, then leave the rest to them. That was all he could do.

"Look," he said, "just... just don't think?"

"What?" Kanji asked.

"Yeah," Ragna replied. "It's clear you're just gonna drive yourself crazy overthinking it. So just... I dunno, do what your think feels right?"

Kanji was left to ponder that one as Ragna merely just wished him luck and moved on. The Gentle Beast took those words and walked over to Shirogane and the others. He took a breath, before he walked forward and got Naoto's attention.

"Uh... N-Naoto-san?" he wondered.

"Yes?" Shirogane replied.

Kanji took another breath, recalling what Ragna said. Don't think. Just feel.

"Would you like to hang out?" he wondered. "If you want?"

"Well, sure," Shirogane replied. "But weren't we just-?"

"Actually!" Chie said, realizizng what was happening. "We were just going to take off! Right Yukiko?"

"Totally!" Yukiko replied, as she and Chie began pushing Narukami away. "Come along Narukami! You had to find Weiss-chan, right?"

"What?" Narukami wondered, as the two girls continued to shove him away!

Shirogane was baffled, scratching her head beneath her hat as she watched them go. "What was that about?" she wondered.

"I don't know," Kanji replied, being silently thankful for the help. "So, shall we? Or, you know."

"Sure," Shirogane said with a shrug.

The two walked away, as Ragna continued to hang out to the side. "Two left," he said to himself. "You can do this."

He made his way back over to where he left the other guys, with Sun still talking to Seth. The assassin had naturally been roped into coming over to the festivities, but was not seeing anything that particularly caught his attention.

He was already regretting his choice to come over to celebrate the holiday with them. He was told to at least try to spend his day there, but he just didn't know what else he could do. He was merely standing off to the side and letting Sun do most of the work for him, but had no engagement from anything.

"So," Sun said, "how're you feeling?"

"I am every bit as utterly devoid of interest as I thought I would be," Seth replied.

"Hey," Sun said, "I thought we agreed that-"

"I would at least try," Seth said. "And I have been trying for nearly forty-five minutes, and have yet to see anything of interest."

"Well," Sun said, "perhaps just give it a bit more time?"

"For what?" Seth asked.

Before the faunus boy could reply, Ragna walked over. "Hey Sun," he greeted.

"Oh, hello there," Sun replied. "How's it going?"

"Not much to go on," Ragna replied. "I was just wondering something though. By any chance are you gonna go talk to Belladonna?"

"My my," Sun said sarcastically. "Trying to nudge me over, Ragna?"

Ragna merely sighed. Seth was equally as bemused as he raised a brow at his companion.

"Don't worry," Sun said. "I'll do my part. But actually, that does give me an idea. Seth," he told the assassin, "how about you do your own thing for awhile? See if anything catches your eye. Again, at least try. In the meantime, I'mma run over and say 'hello' to my favorite member of Beacon's prized team."

Cackling in delight, Sun leapt away, leaving two rather stoic gentlemen behind him. "He's quite the character," Ragna observed.

"Yes," Seth said. "And more often than not I wish he would keep that character away from me."

Meanwhile, Sun's primary target was simply sitting in a secluded spot where she wouldn't be bothered. She had already spent nearly a half hour hanging out with her teammates and the rest of her friends, but now she just needed a moment to herself in one of a small handful of umbrella tables that were positioned around. Next to her was Tsubaki, who made for a good companion, if a little bit anxious at the moment as her eyes were darting around in a vain attempt to find something (or someone) with her feet bouncing fretfully. Still, she was keeping quiet, which was all Blake needed.

As she continued to read, however, a familiar tail suddenly entered her vision, twitching in a playful manner in front of her vision. Blake took a breath, knowing that he would have shown up eventually. She looked up spotting Sun himself crouched on top of the umbrella just over her head. "Hey there," he greeted casually.

"Hello Sun," Blake said calmly. "How can I help you?"

"Oh, y'know," Sun replied, "you could... I dunno... mayhaps spend the rest of the day with a distinctly lonely fellow."

"If I find him I'll let you know," Blake replied, returning to her book.

Sun flinched under that response. "I-I meant me!" he said. "Would you like to spend the rest of the day with me?"

Blake smirked as she looked back up at him again. "I suppose that is a possibility," she replied. "Does that mean you're asking me to be your Valentine?"

"Maybe~" Sun replied. "But I wasn't the one who brought it up."

"And I never said 'yes'," Blake retorted.

Sun felt another pain in his chest! "Always have to have the last word, don't you?" he asked.

"Just so we know who's in charge of this relationship," Blake said.

"So you call it a 'relationship' between you and I?" Sun asked.

"That is a technical term for it," Blake replied. "So are you going to sit there all night or are we going to do this?"

Sun hopped down, bowing dramatically to Blake as the two faunus ran off. Nearby, the utterly forgotten Tsubaki watched them go with a red face. _Hopefully I can be just as lucky_, she prayed.

"Seeking inspiration?" Ragna asked. Tsubaki jumped, seeing Ragna standing right next to her!

"H-how long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"Pretty much the whole time," Ragna replied. "You were so taken by those two that you didn't even notice me walking over."

"Right," Tsubaki said, looking away. The two had a fairly complex relationship, but it was even worse when you consider the fact that Tsubaki was infatuated by his brother. Speaking of which.

"Look," Ragna said. "You know that I don't have a good relationship with my brother. And I don't particularly give a single shit if he ends up living happily ever after with a woman or dies alone in a hole where nobody will ever find him or remember him. However, if you really think that he makes you happy or even if you can make him happy, just talk to the bastard already."

"Whoever said I needed relationship advice from you?" Tsubaki asked. "You don't exactly scream 'social butterfly' when you seem to prefer spending every day alone by yourself and get enraged by anyone who comes near you attempting to force you from that shell of yours."

"Not 'prefer' but that's none of your business," Ragna replied. "But at any rate, I do have some advice that you should at least consider taking. Be forceful with Jin. Make your point clear, or else he'll never listen. That's all I'm gonna say."

Tsubaki raised a brow as she watched him go. However, he did spin on his heel another moment after. "And by the way," he said, "tell him to take it down a notch around Noel or else I'm gonna shove my sword up his ass so far he won't be able to use the toilet for the next forty-five years." He proceeded on his way, leaving a partially mortified Tsubaki in his wake.

She did perk up a tad, when the Hero of the Frozen Blade himself walked over. She quickly got to her feet and respectfully greeted him.

"Tsubaki," Jin replied. "Why have you brought me here? To this world, away from my duties?"

"W-well Jin," Tsubaki replied, pulling a small box from behind her back. "I-I... ahem! In honor of your birthday today, I bought you something?"

Jin raised a brow at her. "A gift?" he asked. He took the small package in hand, just small enough to fit in the palm of his hand. "You didn't need to do that."

"I-I wanted to!" Tsubaki replied firmly. "I-it's just, you know... I wanted to do something nice for you to make you feel happy." She didn't know why, but she was doing precisely as Ragna had recommended and was just acting firm.

Jin looked partially surprised, before he opened the box and looked at the gift inside. It was a small charm that could pin to his collar that resembled two swords.

"That's awfully kind of you," he said.

"Ye-uh, thank you," Tsubaki replied. "And I was hoping Jin, that tonight I could also treat you to dinner."

"Why?" Jin asked. "I have-"

"You can take the night to yourself, can't you?" Tsubaki asked. "I mean, once again, it's your birthday!"

Jin looked surprised once again, before he relented. "If you'd like," he said. "But I will be paying for my share of it."

"S-sure!" Tsubaki said. "Whatever you say."

Jin waved her off, as he took his leave, Tsubaki just about ready to faint now that she had handled that situation.

Back with Ragna, he finally stopped off in front of the counter where Heart was working at the moment. He was about as ready to collapse as much as Tsubaki was, totally exhausted from this whole ordeal. And just his luck, Mitsuru was standing right beside him.

"And how are we feeling today?" Mitsuru asked.

"Tire, cranky, and ready to go to bed," Ragna replied. "So overall an average day for me."

"I wouldn't say that," Mitsuru replied.

"Why do you say that?" Ragna asked.

"You made a lot of people happy," Mitsuru replied.

"What?" Ragna asked. "What're you talking about? All I did was just bother everyone else and force them into interacting with each other."

"Look again," Mitsuru said, gesturing over her shoulder. Ragna looked, seeing how everyone else was acting to one another.

Kanji and Shirogane were having what appeared to be a good conversation with one another as they were eating some food. Ruby had gravitated back to Hyde and the two were interacting, Hyde having a bit of red on his cheeks as he still seemed confused about what had happened earlier with his chocolate. Yu was sitting near them with that usual gentle smile on his face, but his eyes continued to flick over to where Weiss was sitting, the Ice Queen appearing far more relaxed than she had all day prior as she had her own gentle expression on her face, and her cheeks weren't as flushed. Tsubaki had a distinctly dreamy expression on her face as she looked up at the sky. Makoto and Yosuke were sticking close, playing a bunch of games, with Blake and Sun doing very similar activities, the female partners appearing to be cheering their male companions on as they were competing in a game.

"I don't know about you," Mitsuru said, "but you seemed to do a good thing by getting most of these pairs together. Many times people say that all you need to do what you need to is one push. And you gave them a push today."

Ragna merely blinked and looked forward. "I guess," he said, "you have a point."

Heart shot Mitsuru a thumbs up, the Rare Maiden having been incredibly silent that entire time. Mitsuru nodded back as Ragna rolled his eyes. Mitsuru looked back at him, shaking her head at his behavior. "Here," she said. "Perhaps getting your own token will make you feel better."

Ragna looked as Mitsuru offered him his own chocolate. However, he shook his head. "No thanks," he said. "I'm not in the mood. I just want to get some rest. I've had enough for one day."

"Ah," Mitsuru said, having gotten a shoulder so cold it would giver her a run for her money. "I see. Well, can't say I didn't try."

Heart from behind the stand was looking at the situation with a solid amount of repressed anger webbing its way into her features! Mitsuru had been intending to give Ragna some Honmei-choco. It was a sign of her romantic feelings she was getting for him! But Ragna was so dense he didn't even accept it, even if he didn't know what it truly was! It was enough to make Heart want to fire an iron fist directly into his skull!

Still, with Heart's patience worn to its thinnest level, the afternoon went on as it was. Everyone had a lovely time with one another, but little did they know that a darker, shadowy figure was watching them all interact. Initially she had hoped to sneak in and kill Heart the first chance she got, reveling in the irony of rending Heart from this world on her favorite day of all. But she was kept too close to anyone at a given moment, making it impossible to swoop in and take the chance as she had hoped.

So instead, Dark Heart was left to merely watch from the shadows. She gripped the hilt of her sword hard enough to crack it, as she glared at Heart Aino on the ground. "Enjoy your favorite holiday," she said. "For it will be the last Valentine's Day you will ever celebrate, Heart Aino."

She continued to glare at her, a shadow made over her eyes by the visor of her hat, her somewhat purple colored eyes almost glowing red from beneath the shadow. "Your curse will take you sooner or later. For there can only be one of us in this, or any universe."

* * *

_**A/N: And on that disproportionately grim tone, the second half of the Valentine's celebration is over and behind us! I hope it was worth it, and once again I would like to apologize for being somewhat late on this one. But after a shot of espresso it was completed and ready to submit.**_

_**That being said, a few notes as always. I didn't focus as heavily on Night Rose as I tend to do, but that was only because I spend so much time on it as I do, I wanted to give some time on the other ones as well. And in case you are worried that I won't give the pairing some more love, just wait until White Day, eh? ;)**_

_**Anywho, I was fairly entertained by how I portrayed Weiss in the Royal Flush segment. I enjoyed having her go full-blown, stereotypical tsundere back there. I didn't give too much focus on the other pairings like Kanji and Naoto, Black Sun, or Tsubaki and Jin, but I at least hope I did enough. **_

_**I was also very happy with how I portrayed Yosuke and Makoto meeting back up again. They're such adorable little dorks and I liked to just focus on them having a nice, reciprocating attraction without going over the top with it.**_

_**Speaking of reciprocation, I also gave a bit of focus to Orie and Rise here since I've sorta taken their guys away from them. Rise still isn't giving up, obviously, but I moreso wanted to focus on Orie having settled on her feelings for Hyde and moved on from them. Overall, I hope I gave you guys a solid and acceptable portrayal there.**_

_**Also, in case some of you were hoping to get a bit more outta Seth there, I am not gonna lie when I say I didn't really know what to do with him. Initially I was thinking I might have a moment with each of his potential candidates for a partner but I didn't know how to do that as of yet without giving too much focus to one or another and make it disproportionate. Again, wait for White Day and we might have a little something more there.**_

_**All things said and done, I didn't mind this chapter all that much and hope that it was enough for all of you guys!**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To Mystech Master; Big thanks for the extra Akatsuki information! Some I knew, some I didn't, overall it was a big help! And, uh, can you tell me how to get a brain big enough to contain all that information you've dropped on me in the past. (JK, every bit is always appreciated.)**_

_**To SolarS; Such language! In all seriousness, it's no trouble friend. I get in that self-deprecation funk sometimes for missing something I later realize to be totally obvious. It happens to the best of us. And I will certainly answer every question I have personally gotten so those who do have questions for me behind the scenes can have their answers. And definitely check out AH3. They have a new update coming out, which is where Dark Heart actually comes from, so now's the perfect time! Also, main reason Kanji was there was only because Heart knew he was into Naoto Shirogane and wanted to do something for him to show his affections, only it turned out to be in vain as he left later. (by the by, that question for Heart is great! XD)**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya; Your suggestion will come about! Have no fear! And I was under the impression that Heart's birthday was on Valentine's Day as well, until I later realized that it was actually in January, meaning I totally MISSED IT! But I do concur that Heart is a psycho (albeit an adorable one) and Saki deserves ALL the headpats.**_

_**To Praxus84; Personally, without giving much away, I do have a plan to have the likes of Ironwood meet with da bois Gordeau and Kagura in the future for reasons, with Winter not far away having Daidouji busting her chops (as the shinobi is Qrow's partner here, and Qrow sexually frustrates Winter on a daily basis.)**_

_**To Will DeGrave; Interesting notes. I'll bear that in mind. **_

_**To the guest who asked me if I read "Persona RWBY Ultimax" I have been recommended to read that before, but unfortunately I haven't been able to read what my fellow authors out there have done as of late as I've been trapped in a life draining funk. But, that should hopefully change!**_

_**And to the other guest who requested Fuuka appear, I can totally do that! Fuuka is such a sweetheart, and I like to have every character get at least a bit of time in the spotlight if I can.**_

_**With that all behind us, thank you for reading! Be sure to let me know your thoughts and suggestions, hope you all had a wonderful belated Valentine's Day, and until next time have a wonderful evening and take care!**_


	44. Q&A 1

**Q&A 1:**

Eltnum: Hey there! Sion Eltnam Atlasia still here! Still breaking the fourth wall, and still waiting on ArcSys to put me in BBTAG! And still stuck here with this slower than anything excuse for an author!

Author X: You hurt me Eltnum. Remind me again why I bothered having you as the "assistant" editor in this thing?

Eltnum: Because I'm the only one who directly interacts with you?

Author X: What about those times with Ruby or whatever?

Eltnum: Semantics.

Author X: Regardless... hello everyone and welcome to our first Q&A based chapter for Cross Tag Character Collision! Thank you all so much for joining and asking your questions. And let's hope that we can get more in the future! I figured that this would be an appropriate chapter to do here because just a few days ago, Cross Tag Character Collision became a year old! It's hard to believe that it has already been a year since I first started this little thing, and I have been struggling to grow ever since. Since I have so many more ideas that I want to get off the ground.

Eltnum: And can't agree on anything to do!

Author X: Sad but true.

These questions will be in order of when they were asked, as per usual with me. With that said, here we go!

* * *

**From jadasimone16: To Ragna, how do you feel about Ruby making friends with Hazama.**

Ragna: Well to be honest, it kinda scares the shit outta me. The kid sticks to me like glue so you could say I've grown sort of protective of her. She kinda... reminds me of some people I knew. Guh. Anyway, I just want to keep her as far away from him as I physically can! Cause' while he might be playin' nice as of recently, I know that he's got something up his sleeve and will not hesitate to try killing everything in sight! And it's even worse if there's somebody he's interested in, cause' that just means he'll probably do something even worse than if he was indifferent about somebody. And the worst part is I've tried warning her, but she just doesn't understand how dangerous that bastard can be. I just... I don't like to think about it. So I'll just do what I can to keep her safe. I just hope I have better luck than I used to in these situations. For her sake.

**From Jennie Gene: A question for Yosuke, Carmine, Seth, Hyde, and Akatsuki, why are you guys so cute? I just want to pinch your cheeks!**

Yosuke: Eh. It's a talent I guess.

Carmine: You tryin' to pick a fight with me!? I ain't cute, so you can keep that shit outta here before I rip off your head! And keep away from my face!

Seth: I fail to see how I classify as cute.

Hyde: Uh... t-thanks? And, uh, I don't really know why.

Akatsuki: You find me cute? Huh. Well, I appreciate the compliment. And to be quite frank I do not know how I am, actually. Perhaps something to do with the process of obtaining the Blitz Motor? But that's only a guess.

**From FightingFlash 64: To the Investigation Team, if you guys were the magical girls, Precure, then what would you guy's cure name and attack be?**

Teddie: Ooh~ I'm familiar with that series!

Shirogane: Isn't that a series made for children?

Yu: Well there's nothing to keep you from enjoying it while you're older, right? Feel free to like what you enjoy, and don't let anyone misjudge you for simply enjoying something you like.

Chie: And now that Narukami-kun's done being a philosopher, I guess... that's a good question.

Yukiko: From what I know, each character tends to have 'cure' in their name, right?

Teddie: Eh, not always. But the majority do. And they tend to have a theme like flowers, music, or simply colors.

Yosuke: Do I want to know why you know so much about this?

Teddie: Remember what sensei said, Yosuke~! Do not misjudge another for their interests.

Rise: When it comes to you, there's little to 'misjudge' since you wear yourself on your sleeve. Even when we'd rather you not.

Yu: Well while I'm thinking about it, since most of us use elements of some kind could we go with that?

Chie: That's a good point... but Tomoe doesn't really follow a specific element, exactly.

Shirogane: And Sukuna-Hikona uses both light and darkness so how would that exactly roll off the tongue?

Kanji: I got it. We just go with our Arcanas. Like, Chie-Senpai is Chariot Cure, Yosuke-Senpai is Magician Cure, Rise-san is Lover Cure, and so on.

Yu: I guess that would make me Wild Cure, huh? Since I use the Wild Card.

Yukiko: That actually makes sense, Kanji-kun!

Teddie: How long have you had that in the back of your mind you sly dog~?

Kanji: Hey! We agreed we don't judge for what we like! So piss off before I use you like a football!

Rise: Okay, okay! So, how about attack names? The person who asked the questions wondered that too.

Youke: I guess since we're already using our Arcanas for our names it'd be too unoriginal to use standard spell names for our attacks, huh?

Shirogane: Point granted. It'd stand to be a bit more original this time.

Yukiko: Uh... Chie? Why're you shaking?

Chie: I've been waiting for this moment my whole life! Move over people, I got this!

Yosuke: Yikes! Chie's gone obsessive mode!

Kanji: Gangway!

_The list of Names and Attacks as follows:_

_Yu Narukami: Wild Cure. Attack: Heroic Truth._

_Yosuke Hanamura: Magician Cure. Attack: Brave Mirage._

_Yukiko Amagic: Empress Cure. Attack: Blooming Phoenix._

_Chie Satonaka: Chariot Cure. Attack: Herculean Dragon Punt._

_Kanji Tatsumi: Emperor Cure. Attack: Primal Ass Whoopin'._

_Naoto Shirogane: Fortune Cure. Attack: Judge's Blight._

_Rise Kujikawa: Love Cure. Attack: Platinum Rock._

_Teddie: Star Cure. Attack: Mystery Tomahawk._

Rise: Huh. Not bad.

Yosuke: Why does Chie get one of the longest attack names of them all?

Chie: Cause' I made the list! Duh?

Shirogane: And why is Kanji-kun's attack name so... generic?

Chie: Well when he comes up with more creative attacks, let me know! I did my best with what I had!

Kanji: Eh. I don't mind. Seems right.

Yu: Agreed.

Teddie: Alright! Now the final step is to cosplay! Once more our handsome boys will-!

Yu/Kanji/Yosuke: NOT THIS SIDE OF HELL!

Chie: Seriously! I am still fighting off PTSD flashbacks from the last time we had them do that!

Rise: And I'm still getting spontaneous nosebleeds every time I remember-! Gah! Not again! Seriously?!

**From Neptunia56: To Rachel and Celica, 1.) out of all the people from the Investigation Team, who is your favorite and why? 2.) Do you guys have any hobbies?**

Celica: Ooh~ Good questions! Oh... for question one I don't know who to pick! Everyone is so cool! Aw! I guess... I do spend a lot of time with Chie, Yukiko, and Rise. And Narukami, Yosuke, and Kanji are really nice and funny too! Naoto Shirogane is really smart too, and Teddie is a little bundle of fluff! But... I'll say... Yukiko. I spend a lot of time with her, and she's super pretty and has a lot of talents! She's showed me a lot about running an inn in Japan and has a lot of nice techniques and rituals. So I'd say her. But I love everyone else too!

Rachel: Well that was rather exuberrant. I would have to say that the Amagi girl is quite the aspiring lady, and she has spoken to me on a number of occasions for advice. But I'd say the Shirogane girl has herself the most put together out of her teammates, and is quite the bright and observant one too. So I would say I prefer her over the rest. The others are far too... disorganized.

Celica: Okay! And for question two, I have a few hobbies! I really like exploring around! Though I have a hard time finding where I'm supposed to go, it gives me a chance to explore all over the different worlds! Not too long ago I ended up on the roof of a building in the Kingdom of Atlas, and while I was trying to find a way to get down Ragna ended up running over panting like crazy with Mitsuru and Mr. Branwen right behind him and he yelled, "How the heck did you even get up there!?" Hahaha! It was really funny. Aside from that, I also do love reading too! And Blake and Shirogane offer me a lot of good suggestions sometimes! Also cooking is really nice too. Mostly baking with Heart, since she's always willing to make something nice!

Rachel: Hmm. I concur that reading is often a good way to pass the time. Far more than those movies or video games that those boys and even some of the girls go on about all the time whenever I'm passing by. But my favorite hobby is certainly enjoying a good tea. There's nothing quite like the feeling of nicely brewed tea slipping through your system.

**To Yukiko, what do you think of Valkenhayn? Do you see him as a mentor and a nice gentleman?**

Yukiko: Oh, Valkenhayn-san? Yes, he's awesome! I mean, meeting a real life werewolf who happens to really be a nice, sophisticated man, how much more awesome can you get? In all seriousness, I think he's a really nice gentleman to be sure. Always so respectful of me or the other members of the team whenever we see Rachel-san. He treats me like a true lady, and I've actually learnt a bit from him when I've gone to see her. "Proper etiquette befitting a lady of your craft" as he said. So I guess you could call him a mentor of sorts. Heehee!

To Gordeau, what do you do when you are not at work, and what do you think of Kagura Mutuski?

Gordeau: Eh. Whenever I'm not working I just kinda do whatever. And as for what I think of Kagura, I've only met him once or twice on a different assignment, and he's pretty chill. A bit too thirsty for my care, since he's typically bugging me about any hot girls I know like Hilda, but he's overall pretty fun.

**From The Guest 2: To Platinum, why you so mean Luna? (Also here's a cake.)**

Sena: O-oh! Thank you for the cake! Ooh~ It looks super tasty.

Luna: Just don't make us sick. And as for why you call me "mean" all the time, it's not so much as being "mean" as it is, "rightfully frustrated" over the lack of people I know in life that have so much as half a brain! Seriously! Everybody I've met recently have been nothing but total morons! The only person I've grown to respect in any way was Linne. I guess Chie's alright, but only because Sena likes her and she's nice. (And I still wonder how that bear thing got so sparkly though. That was pretty cool.)

* * *

Eltnum: And finally. We also had a few questions for the author himself!

Author: Figured it'd be good to answer a few questions here, eh? So, hit me vampire waifu!

Eltnum: Okay, handsome guy.

**From Neptunia56: Do you want the characters to react to some videos or video games?**

Author: I have actually thought about doing reaction chapters in the past. Namely I wanted to have them react to Dragon Ball Super: Broly, since that movie is amazing and I imagine most of them would love it, but I feel like that can happen in a separate fic. It's a similar feeling I have to possibly doing later Q&A segments in a separate article as opposed to doing more chapters dedicated to that. You guys can let me know if you want to do following Q&A chapters as a separate fic dedicated purely to that or keep it as later chapters, and if you guys think that a reaction chapter would be fun, let me know!

**From Thee Guest: Is the world interconnected like is there a gate or portal or some kind of railway for them to travel between worlds? I wanted to know since they are going places in a literal sense.**

Author: The way I've thought of it is that there are different gates located that can connect the worlds from different locations. Perhaps the different Keystones opened up gateways at certain important points. Ie; there's a gate that connects Kanzakai to Kagutsuchi, and another one at another point that connects Kanzakai to Vale, just to name a few. If you guys have played/and or seen a playthrough of the Project X Zone games, it's very much like that. (Which makes for a very potential crossover idea.) That's more or less how I consider it, and why characters don't spend weeks on end travelling on foot from one place like Inaba or something just to get to Vale. (You can also assume that most of these cities are geologically around the same place. Like, we know that most of the cities in Blazblue are around where Japan used to be in the timeline, and we know for a fact that Inaba, Kanzakai, and the places in Senran Kagura or Arcana Heart are in Japan, with RWBY as the odd one out being a scifi/fantasy world of its own, but you can just make it as you will.) I hope this helps put a clearer picture in your guys' minds!

**And finally from a Guest user, they have a list of questions. 1. Have you read "Persona RWBY Ultimax" and if so, what do you think?**

Author: I have read... parts of it.

Eltnum: Really, bro?

Author: Shut it! Yes, I've been meaning to read on more BBTAG related fics, even though Persona RWBY Ultimax is just a P4AU/RWBY crossover, to pay back to my fellow BBTAG fic writers/readers. At the moment I've mostly been distracting myself by reading fics as inspiration for other projects I have on the side until the day I can get them up. But from what I have read, it's really good. The characterization is on point, and I like the alternate take on P4AU's conclusion like having Minazuki survive with Sho and allow Labrys to be around with the others. Any problem that I have had, like the idea of _Oh four characters end up in Remnant so they have to be a team~ _is really just subjective and totally just personal opinion. I really do enjoy the fic and _**HAVE **_to read more of it!

**2\. Will you make a chapter about when Carmine is busy beating up random thugs that wants to pick a fight with him, he meets Sho Minazuki. I can imagine both of them will start fighting against each other and they will eventually start to respect each other like how Sho bonds with Yu by fighting. Maybe add Scharlachrot in here to spice up the excitement and fight. I would love to hear of Sho's puns and that he would remind them of Yang.**

Author: Have you stolen my files or something? But to be real, I've tried to get Sho in here for awhile and I have had a very similar idea like that in the past. I do intend to get him in a manner similar to what you said, and you guys can rest easy knowing that there will be a circumstance akin to that in the next chapter or so with the idea I have in mind.

**3\. Have you decided on the AdachixVelvet pair?**

Author. Eh... not really? To be fair, Adachi's a weird as hell character to pair up with anybody... Namely because he's a dick. Like, it's hard to decide pairings for villain/antagonistic characters since they're typically revolving around themselves. And a precious child like Velvet would typically end up with a kinder, gentler character in my head, since that's just how I function. I actually thought of having Adachi maybe get together with Hilda since I LOVED their interactions in the game. But, that's all up in the air. I could see Adachi and Velvet becoming a thing with the manner in how Velvet helps him become a bit more tolerant of mankind and all that, but I think somebody else pointed it out before that it should function more like a friendship. If there's enough support, I'd be happy to have that. But as of now, it's something more akin to a friendship in my mind.

Eltnum: Why you always gotta be obsessing over pairings?

Author: Don't pretend you don't love them. People deserve happiness gosh darn it! Like Seth! ...Hey, did we decide who the boy's getting together with?

Eltnum: You were still waiting to see what people had to say.

Author: Ah, right.

Anyways, that does it for our first Q&A! Hope to do more of these in the future. This was fun! And next time everyone, you can expect a chapter to act more as a 'traditional' celebration of our 1 year anniversary of this little fanfic of mine. Until that time, I thank you as always for reading. And I'll see you all later, have a wonderful evening and take care!


	45. Q&A 2

Eltnum tapped her foot impatiently, as she looked at the Author holding the thermometer in his mouth. Finally, she took the thermometer out and took a look at it. Her eyes bugged out comically as she read the indicator.

"H...how?" she wondered. "H-how is it possible for you to get an 'Infinity+' reading on a thermometer? That's not possible! It's infinity! How can you go plus infinity!?"

"*...d*n*...k**w..." the Author replied, but so quiet Eltnum couldn't even hear.

"What?" she asked.

"I...d*n't... *no*...!" the Author said, a little louder, but still too low for Eltnum to hear.

"What?" Eltnum asked, leaning over to hear him better.

"I DON'T KNOW!" the Author said, screaming right in Eltnum's ear.

"Okay~" Eltnum said, rubbing her ear.

"Hey everyone. Sorry to say, but the past week, the Author-X over here was suffering from a cold that had him feeling, as he said, 'like his head turned into a bowling ball' with how congested he's been. For these reasons, he literally could not think straight, making it pretty much impossible for him to actually write anything new. So, with that in mind, he's decided to compile the questions he'd gotten ever since the last Q&A Chapter, so he can get... something out for everyone."

"El*n*m! N*se b*ee*ing!" the Author's voice said.

"Oh for the love of me!" Eltnum said. "What is that, the fourth time!? Just because I'm part vampire doesn't mean I'm gonna drink your nasty, sick blood!"

* * *

**From zucoandgutyboy14: To Makoto, Kokonoe, Jubei, Blake, Velvet, and Sun, concerning yours and RWBY's worlds on how humans deal with the Beastkin/Faunus how do you guys view them and if you could choose to be reborn in the others world or keep your life as is?**

Makoto: Oh, the whole racism thing on Remnant? Yeah, I'm familiar with that of course since I talk to Blake a lot. I will admit, I'm not a fan of hearing about that war that happened and that there are still people that treat the faunus badly. From what I hear from Blake or even Sun, it's quite a lot like how some humans treat the beastkin in my world. But it's not like the faunus are particularly makin' things better for themselves with that White Fang organization.

_She takes a second to take a breath._

Makoto: I just wish people on both worlds could just be more accepting and not hate people because of having some animal traits. Honestly though, I would never wish to have been born anywhere other than where I'm at now. I have such cherished friends like Noel, Tsubaki, Kajun, Mai! I honestly wouldn't be where I am today without them! And if I were born on Remnant, for all I know, I might have become a member of the White Fang if I was treated as bad as I was on my Earth! So... yeah, nothing against Remnant, but I'm happy where I am now.

Blake: I've heard from Makoto about how things are on her Earth, and how they're very similar to what happened to the faunus on Remnant, yes. It honestly does kind of break my heart to hear that we faunus and beastkin aren't any different almost at all in terms of the descrimination and the hate we get. Honestly, I am kind of curious about what it would be like to be reborn on their Earth, just to see if my path would have been that much different to how things were for me on Remnant.

Kokonoe: Hmm... Yes, the descrimination of the faunus on Remnant. To tell you the truth, I've only heard about it in passing. To be frank I'm not that interested in faunus culture or the like and am more curious about studying their biology to see just how different they are compared to most beastkin. I'm still trying to convince those squirrel and cat girls to offer me some dna samples for study~

Blake/Makoto: NO!

Kokonoe: It was a joke. Regardless, I would much rather stay as I am now. I don't have interest in being "reborn" as you say on Remnant if it means losing my intelligence and memories of my life here, as that wouldn't give me much to study now would it?

Sun: Huh. Well, I would be lying if I said I wasn't at least curious about those beastkin folks. Namely Taokaka and her clan cause'... well, they make me laugh! But, yeah, it is a bummer that things aren't any better for them on their world compared to the faunus over here. I'd be a bit curious about looking into their world for numerous reasons, but I'd have to say being "reborn" to do so is a bit unnecessary. Just going out there and exploring and living a day in the life would be enough for me.

Jubei: Ah, yeah. The faunus. I have to say out of all the things I've seen, not once have I seen any being like me in their world. So suffice is to say my stealth has come in handy in terms of keeping attention off of me whenever I've done some exploring in their world. Still, not like they're that much better off regardless if they have any "anthropomorphic" beings like me. I can't say being reborn in their world has much appeal, as I have done so much in this life, I couldn't imagine being anywhere else. But I would be lying if I said I wasn't curious about what it'd be like to be reborn as one of these "faunus." I wonder how I'd look majoridly human?

**From Spider999: I have a question for all of you, (including the villains,) have you ever see the movie call The Exorcist, or any horror film? **

(_Since there are far too many characters to ask, I'm mostly going to focus on the main ones that readily came to mind. Sorry!_)

* Hilda and Hazama take a sneaky look over to Ragna, who blushed and looked away furiously. *

Hilda: Well, we did actually see this movie last Halloween.

Hazama: True, true. And poor Raggy over there was just about wetting himself in the arms of the lovely Miss Kirijo over there.

Ragna: I was not wetting myself you two! Come over here and say that to my face so I can introduce you to my Bloodscythe!

Mitsuru: Ragna! Relax! Yes, we did see the movie last year. Obviously, Junpei had the bright idea to show that to the entire team one night. Poor Yukari just about passed out in fear in Yuki-kun's arms.

Akihiko: You didn't do that much better yourself Mitsuru. You just about broke mine and Shinji's wrists!

Mitsuru: I did not! Come over here and say that to my face so I can introduce you to my rapier!

Ragna: Great! Now _I'm _the one who has to restrain _her_!

Aigis: Are we sure that Mitsuru-san and Ragna-san are not yet in a relationship?

Ruby: Yeah, pretty sure.

Makoto: Bummer.

Hyde: Well, maybe the rest of us should answer?

Yang: Ruby has not seen the Exorcist.

Ruby: Yang, come on!

Weiss: She's far too innocent for such content.

Ruby: Weiss!

Blake: The rest of us had, and suffice is to say, it was not fun.

Yang: Sure enough! Hahahahaha! Blake got so scared she stuck herself to the ceiling! And Weiss full-blown fainted!

Weiss: I did not faint!

Blake: And I didn't "stick myself to the ceiling!" I jumped! That's it!

Yosuke: Oh man, I wish I could've seen that!

Yu: Didn't you puke in the bathroom after you saw the Exorcist, Yosuke?

Yosuke: Narukami!

Weiss: Seriously? You got so scared you puked?

Makoto: Poor baby. *Pats him encouragingly on the back.*

Chie: Yeah! He was stuck there for nearly twenty minutes!

Yosuke: Yeah, well at least I didn't wet myself!

Chie: I did not wet myself!

Noel: Oh my! Uh... C-Chie do you-?

Chie: Whatever it is Noel, zip-it! I did not wet myself!

Yukiko: But you did faint too Chie! *Laughing fit: Engage!*

Chie: Oh come on, Yukiko!

Kurogane: So, just so we're clear, we're surrounded by a bunch of chickens?

Hyde: Yeah, seems like it.

Kurogane: Did you watch it, little brother?

Hyde: Nah. Not interested. You?

Kurogane: Same. So, has anyone seen any other horror movies? I've only ever watched the Alien movies. They... I dunno, they interested me.

Hyde: That's a good one. I'm not that into horror, but I did at least watch one or two of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies.

Yosuke: Friday the 13th for me!

Narukami nodded.

Kanji: Nope. Don't do horror.

Chie: Mega nope!

Yang: We gotta show you "The Girl in the Woods."

Chie: Huh!?

Blake: Horror movie from our world. We gotta show you that, and "The Night Terror."

Chie: G-guys no! W-we're best friends, right!?

Weiss: I've always been privy to "The Wraith Huntress."

Chie: Why?!

Yang: Ah, that one's more action than horror. But I can appreciate it.

Hyde: Is is it just me, or does horror on Remnant sound even worse than horror on Earth?

Kurogane: Eh, probably.

Ruby: Seriously guys!? Have you been holding out on me!?

WBY: You're too pure!

Yukiko: Ooh! We should watch the Ju-On movies too! Those are some of my favorites!

Chie: Yukiko! Don't encourage this!

Kurogane: What about Makoto or Noel? Do you guys have any horror?

Makoto: Noel doesn't do horror. And that's not just me saying that either. She really is bad with the stuff.

Noel nods enthusiastically.

Makoto: But, yeah! I've enjoyed a lot of the classics when we found some old dvds or even vhs tapes of them! Pretty much everything you guys mentioned! Alien is the best!

Hilda and Hazama laugh off to the side.

Adachi: What about you two? Have you watched a lot of horror?

Hilda: Oh heavens no. Much of it is just the same fluff playing off anxieties. I prefer to be the one who gives anxiety.

Hazama: True, true. I mean, why enjoy in fiction what you could enjoy in reality?

Adachi: Eh. I feel that. Although a Paranormal Activity or Insidious every now and again doesn't hurt.

**Also From Spider999: What's your favorite food, guys?**

Ruby: Strawberries, believe it or not! But I am a fan of cookies too.

Makoto: Chestnut parfaits!

Chie: Steak!

Blake: I enjoy most seafood.

Yang: No~

Blake: You want me to suplex you?

Weiss: Hmm~ That's hard for me to say. Blueberry frozen yogurt is really good, but in terms of an actual food I have a hard time. I quite enjoy apple pie from time to time though.

Yosuke: Oh, bit of a sweet tooth, Ice Queen?

Weiss: You're one to talk with all your junk food!

Yosuke: Well me, I really like donburi.

Yu: Agreed. I am also privy to ramen.

Hyde: I like ramen too.

Yang: Well I'm a big fan of curry actually. Namely green curry or other spicy curry!

Blake: Wait, you like hot food? No~

Yang: Now do you want to be the one who gets supplexed?

Hilda: Hmm~ Hazama, Adachi, what do you gentlemen think?

Hazama: Oh, me? Well, I love a hard boiled egg every now and again.

Adachi: Ooh, nice. I like me some jerky from time to time. A bit of a guilty pleasure.

Hilda: Hm. Me? I like some onigiri.

Ragna: Huh. Well, I like tentama udon.

Mitsuru: Oh, I enjoy that too. But I'm more partial to some really great stew.

Adachi: Anything with protein!

Yang/Hyde/Yu/Ragna/Mitsuru/Hilda/Weiss: We're so surprised.

Yukiko: What about you Noel?

Noel: Hmm... what about you Yukiko?

Yukiko: Oh, I like steamed buns!

Noel: Oh, nice! I can't really decide! I just like to make food more than anything!

Makoto shudders offscreen!

**From jadasimone16: To Ruby, which weapons from everyone in Ragna's universe you think are the best?**

Ruby: AAAHH! Don't ask me that! I don't know what to pick! Everyone has such cool weapons! Have you seen Mai's spear!? And what about Noel's guns!? Don't they have like some, super bullets or something? But... oh... I think... If I had to pick... probably Ragna's sword! It reminds me a lot of Uncle Qrow's weapon Harbinger! It starts as a sword that he can turn into a scythe! Only it pumps some, like, energy through it almost like Aura and create this _giant _energy construct out of it! Oh my gosh it's so cool! So, yeah, if I had to pick, it'd be his.

**From Neptunia56: To Yang, what do you think about Daidouji?**

Yang: Oh, you mean the girl that's been chillin' around Uncle Qrow lately? Well, she's like me! Except bigger. Okay, jokes aside, she's really chill. I mean, on the surface, the fact that she honestly does look like me but with black hair gives me bad vibes cause' she kinda looks like my mom, but she's actually really chill. Turns out, that black hair isn't even real. It's part of her "shinobi transformation" or whatever. She's actually got this dirty blonde hair, which makes us even more similar! But, at the same time, when you put her at specific angles, like when she has her hair straightened and her eyes are narrowed she looks a lot like Mitsuru. So it's almost like Daidoji is some weird three-way hybrid between Mitsuru, Akihiko, and I! At any rate, I haven't been around her much since she's on a job for Ozpin and that Kirya guy from Hanzo Academy, but from what I've seen she's really cool and wouldn't mind training with me later! Better hope I don't break my fist against those rock hard abs... I need abs.

**To Haruka, Did you actually manage to drug most of the girls with one of your experiments and what do you think of Kokonoe? Fellow lab partner perhaps?**

Haruka: I am not allowed to confirm nor deny if I have done such a thing. But as for Kokonoe, I have tried to talk to her before and see if we could work together at one point. But she just kinda brushed me off. I mean, blame a girl for being curious about the science of another world... done by a cat.

**To Tager, **(FINALLY BRINGING TAGER BACK IN THIS STORY!) **What do you think of Labrys and Aigis and about their individual pasts?**

Tager: Ah yes. The ASWs. Well, I can say that the two of them are quite the interesting young women, far more than machines. Aigis, despite her somewhat monotonous way of speaking, is quite the polite and considerate lady. And Labrys is quite enthusiastic and adventurous. Overall, the two of them are invaluable. However, their pasts are quite tragic. While Miss Aigis herself has not suffered personally, I cannot deny the things she had to do you can't help but feel bad about it. For the sake of confidentiality I will refrain from elaborating on it. And as for Miss Labrys, forced to grow through combat and carnage the way she was, no sentient creature should have to suffer through it. I can't deny that it is something of a miracle that they are as happy as they are now, surrounded by supportive friends.

**To Elizabeth, what is your favorite skill? But you can't say Megidolaon because that would be too obvious.**

Elizabeth: Oh, take all the fun out of it why don't you? I don't feel like I should answer if you're going to limit my options like that.

Margaret: Come now Elizabeth. They were polite enough to ask.

Elizabeth: But taking away an option, even if they knew it'd be my answer, was just rude!

Margaret: Sister.

Elizabeth: Oh, very well. Well to tell you the truth Mamudoon or Die For Me, if I have Alice equipped, are quite the satisfying spells to use. I also get a kick out of the sheer randomness of Summer Dream when you use both Titania and Oberon! And Black Viper and Morning Star are powerhouse moves, plain and simple, if you happen to have the right Persona. Which for us, is not an issue whatsoever.

Margaret: Don't you tend to use Infuriate, Provoke, or Evil Smile?

Elizabeth: Oh, I just do those regardless of whether or not I have a Persona.

**From Jennie Gene: To Gordeau, Kagura, Adachi, and Junpei, can I get a hug?**

Gordeau: Oh, what the heck! I'm not one to turn down a hug!

Kagura: Sure thing! You don't mind if my hands wander though, do you?

Adachi: Sorry, but physical contact is something I'm not privy too.

Junpei: Ah, sure! I don't mind!

**From AzuriteInsanity: To any Blazblue character of your choosing, what's it like seeing Japan before it got destroyed?**

Ragna: Freaking surreal. Plain and simple.

Mai: It's really weird.

Noel: I agree. Seeing people there so alive and happy. Half the time we're there, I don't really want to leave.

Makoto: Agreed. A lot of people don't even look at me weird for my ears or tail and think I'm just a cosplayer or something!

Tsubaki: Yes. It really does tug at the heart strings, especially with the fear of the future that could possibly be there for them.

/

Eltnum: And now for the author. That means you, so quit with the partial typing and speak in full.

Author: Got it!

Eltnum: Okay, good!

**From Neptunia56: To the author, Have any ideas for a Teach me Miss Litchi or Help Me Professor Kokonoe chapter?**

Author: While I haven't thought about it before, I can't deny that thinking of something for a story like that would be funny. I'll have to keep that in mind.

**From AzuriteInsanity: What's a character (or characters) you haven't written in this story yet, that you would like to? And would you like us to send you some ideas regarding them?**

Author: Well one that readily comes to mind, namely because I didn't know about them until the past month, was Kajun from Blazblue. I found her through a different fic, and from what I've seen she's utterly adorkable, so much as the author that wrote the story wrote her in character! Which, based on how Noel, Makoto, and Tsubaki behave, I'm inclined to believe. She's a precious patoot, plain and simple, it's just my inexperience that kept me from involving her before. You can feel free to leave me suggestions if you want, as I'm not one to deny you if you have an idea you'd like me to create, but honestly given time I'm sure I could come up with something myself. And this isn't so much a character I've yet to use, but rather a character I'd try to include more would be Wagner from UNIB. I'm just wondering what I could do with her.

Eltnum: Most of his conscious energy has been spent towards trying to get Seth a girlfriend since he's a tryhard shipper.

Author: Not true! **ACHOO!**

Eltnum: Agh! Don't sneeze on me!

Author: Sorry.

In all seriousness, thank you all so much for reading. It's hard to believe that I've been working on this fic for over a year now, and have since tried to expand and do more stories in addition to this. And in terms of making more stories, it's been a slow process, but I'm slowly getting out there. I've got SmashDimension Neptunia: Ultimate, which is a fun story I can do in my spare time. I'm planning on removing The Ones Who Bump Back in favor of not one, but TWO other ongoing series I hope to get started, and may bring it back one day with a revised version I've already planned. And hopefully, as time goes on and inspiration hits me, I'll continue to expand.

So to put it simply, thank you guys for the support. Thank you for helping me continue working on this. And please, don't stop giving me feedback. I only want to keep writing this fic for your guys' enjoyment. I have so much fun writing this series, I'm not gonna lie, and I want to know what you guys would like to see in terms of what to do next, or even working on other spin-offs that are connected. Let's make the whole Cross Tag Character Collision Cinematic Universe!

Eltnum: NERD!

Author: Quiet, you!

Alright, but I kid! So, I may have said it before, but I had a plan that I initially wanted to do act as a "proper" celebration for the one year anniversary. But I decided that these Q&As were a nice little thing to do, and yes there will be the separate fic page set-up so you guys can keep getting questions answered over there. And I have one last thing left to do.

So as I answer some of your guys' reviews that I purposefully did not do in the last part, thank you all so much for reading and asking more questions! Take care!

* * *

Epilogue: A Week Later.

* * *

Author: How in the world did you get sick!?

Eltnum: I...D*n*... *n**...

Author: I mean, you're part vampire! How can you even get a normal cold?

Eltnum: I... d*n*t... kn*w...

Author: Wait, what did you say?

Eltnum: I DON'T KNOW!

* * *

_**Review Time!**_

_**To zucoandgutyboy14: Huh, that's actually a really cool idea! Might tie that in with the long awaited Persona Dancing chapter. Truth be told, I did have the thoughts of doing a similar idea recently with an album released by DAGames on YouTube called "FLASHDRIVE" which was themed around colors, so this idea you suggested is just a little closer to home. Cool idea!**_

_**To Mystech Master: Can always count on you to leave some great ideas! If I hadn't gotten sick recently and was distracted by the Q&A stuff, I would have certainly scrambled to release that chapter but... what can you do? Maybe I'll do a call-back to that eventually. And the whole stuff you have for White Day is genius! XD Also, you mentioned that Blazblue is not in Japan, yeah... I did recall the Black Beast destroyed Japan, I just recalled that most of the Blazblue characters use Japanese honorifics and, well y'know the game is made in Japan, so I was just paraphrasing I guess you could say. BUT MY POINT STILL STANDS DARN IT! XD**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Yes, the Close Punches ship will have its time in the near future, don't you worry. I've done segments for literally **_**every **_**other official ship by this point, but I will have them together soon! And what do you mean Hazama's gone? He's right here answering questions! (I'm just kidding, he'll have his come back too. Don'tcha worry none.) And good to know about your thoughts on Adachi's pairing. I'll keep that in mind. **_

_**To SolarS: Yes! Let us salute Ragna the Bloodedge for his effort! Also, that heart bit was gold! So, uh... here, you can pay Reimu with that gold! XD**_

_**To Thee Guest: Yeah, I have a feeling mass destruction would follow if Jin saw Ragna. And not the song from Persona 3, but like, utter devastation! Also, good info to have on Ragna. Also, in regards to the idea of going Unlimited or having Shadow characters, I think that'd actually work well as different chapter ideas. I think it could be fun to have restrained Shadow characters just talkin' a lot of smack! XD**_

_**To Praxus84: Thank ye kindly!**_

_**To Will DeGrave: That's a great suggestion! The only reason why I have Dark Heart hiding in the shadows for now not interacting with her counterpart is the fact that AH3: Six Stars Xtend isn't out yet, which is where Dark Heart will make her debut, and I don't actually know how they're going to interact. We don't even know if she's an actual clone of Heart, or Heart from another dimension, or any of that crap. Namely I just have her here to hype the game! But if I feel especially into it, I may cave and do that if the game doesn't come out soon. So... thanks for the content!**_

_**To AmethystRibbonKnight: Glad to hear you liked the chapter and the Ragna x Mitsuru pairing! It's really grown on me too, even if it just started as a whim. And sure enough, Relius will show up again in the future. And without giving much away, one certain Prince of Junes might~ have choice words to say to the good Mr. Clover. (Douchebag!) Also, in terms of your response to Ch.44, what do you mean Eltnum is **_**my **_**straightman? How is the vampire Deadpool my straightman!? (jk.)**_

_**To Anon: A very interesting concept. I certainly think that Ozpin and Terumi would have interesting things to discuss about their respective origins.**_

_**To Toot: Hey, if you guys want, I can show just what Teddie was doing. I mean, you never know, I could get Wagner some more time that way.**_

_**To Yuuki Itsuka: Yeah.**_

_**To 4bitwriter: Now that you mention it, twice over I've actually had the QUEEN herself Arturia Pendragon show up twice over. Once in my second chapter, "Attack of the Cameos" and later still in Chapter 11 "Puppies Solve Everything". The first was in reference to how not only was F/GO thought of for BBTAG, but also Avatar: The Last Airbender, Nier: Automata, and Skullgirls! The second one was in reference to the fact that Senran Kagura and Arcana Heart had crossed over with each other before in a 2d fighter by the name of Nitroplus Blasterz, where Saber (Arturia) was a playable fighter. Since then, I've learnt WAY~ more about the Fate series and its confusing as all get-out origins, leading me to think that I should do more with it. I will admit, Musashi is an interesting suggestion and one I hadn't thought of. If you guys want more Fate related stuff, not in CTCC but maybe a different fic, HIT ME UP!**_

_**To AzuriteInsanity: Great to hear your thoughts! Also, those ship names are awesome! Personally, I'm leaning more towards Grim Execution as their ship name! Also, glad to hear that Q&A section was easy to read. Hopefully the same can be said for this one. (Namely because I don't think I changed anything!)**_

_**To the Guest who mentioned Mitsuru talking down Rachel, I certainly think that's warranted. At first, I didn't really think a fic like that was deserved, but now? Let me tell you, Ragna's gonna be steamy after seeing the Queen of Executions berating the annoying rabbit! Also, thank you for being understanding.**_

_**And to the Guest who refernced training for the Investigation Team - GENIUS! I NEED THAT TO HAPPEN! I think I made that point clear.**_

_**With all that said and done, thank you all so much for reading and supporting this fic for over a year! Have a wonderful evening and take care!**_

**Thank You:**

Ruby: Thank you all so much for reading and enjoying! It means the world to us!

Yu: Thank you all for your continued support.

Hyde: It's been a wild ride. Thanks for enjoying the... chaos that is our lives.

Yosuke: Glad to hear that you guys have enjoyed our stuff!

Makoto: -and that you particularly enjoyed seein' me get together with this little dork!

Weiss: I hope we can continue to entertain.

Noel: Y-yeah! Hopefully you keep enjoying!

Blake: Truly, every request and bit of feedback is appreciated and helps us out a lot.

Heart: I love you all! Live and let love!

Yumi: Please don't stop giving us suggestions.

Yang: But keep it clean! For real though, glad you guys love this and hopefully we can keep it up!

Akatsuki: Your suggestions and reviews help not only to let us know where to improve, but give a drive to keep going.

Akihiko: Seriously. Everything you do helps out a load.

Mitsuru: We appreciate everything. Ragna? Do you have anything to say?

Ragna: ... Thank you.


	46. The Prince's Inner Strength

Before this chapter begins, I just wanted to preface this by saying that I hope all of my readers and followers stay safe and healthy during these times. On my end, my Spring Break was overshadowed by the fact that at the end of the month I was going to have to stay home and do courses online, only to hear within the past few days that the rest of the semester will be held at home, meaning that I will be home until the Autumn. I hope that everyone else can get through this incident and be able to not let this get them down. So once again, I hope that everyone can stay healthy and safe. With that said, I hope you enjoy this next chapter, finally released after over a week of chaos.

* * *

The Unfaltering Beastkin Makoto Nanaya and Captain Resentment himself, Yosuke Hanamura, had gone on a few dates ever since they agreed to start going out on Valentine's Day. They had gone on a surprising number of dates in the amount of time since the holiday. Anyone could see that they had certainly begun to resonate with one another and enjoyed spending time together.

That night, another date came to a close as Makoto and Yosuke prepared to say good night to one another. It was a usual routine; an individual dropping off their partner at the door and bidding them good night upon ensuring they got home safe. And in this case, it was certainly necessary after what happened earlier that night during the date.

"Well, after all is said and done, I do appreciate you helping me home."

"It's no problem. After all, it's the least I can do."

"Yeah, I would be lying if I said that this date went exactly how I would have hoped."

"Oh, there's no worries. I had a great time with you, like always."

"Although, you know you didn't have to carry me, right?"

"Well, I couldn't help it! It was only right of me."

"Still, it's a bit embarrassing."

"Again, it was only right of me. I very well couldn't trust you to get home safe. Especially in your condition."

Before you assume, it's not what you might think. Turns out, it wasn't Yosuke dropping off Makoto home, or carrying her, as one would presume. But in actuality, it was the other way around.

The two had the bright idea of going to a buffet that night, with Makoto warning Yosuke ahead of time of how much she could usually eat. The Prince of Junes assumed that it couldn't be that much, and agreed to keep pace with her for how much she got. Big mistake.

Suffice is to say, Yosuke was unable to properly walk home without running the risk of throwing up. So Makoto kindly carried him home, bridal style naturally, and dropped him off at the door. And even then, she wasn't totally full. Just satisfied with her apetite.

"So..." Yosuke said. "To what extent am I gonna be flat broke from buying you food in the near future? Just tell me now so I can brace my bank account."

Makoto laughed in response. "Don't worry," she said. "I'll be nice and only eat as much as I should... Maybe... Hopefully... Say, you don't _have _to buy me anything!"

"Well I should," Yosuke said. "I mean, I'm the b-..." He cut himself off, as his face reddened upon what he was about to say, about to say it without even thinking. He cleared his throat as he tried to be bold and look her in the eye while he said it. "Boyfriend. I'm the boyfriend in this relationship."

Makoto blushed in turn as she kept up her smile. "You're sweet," she said. "No matter how much the other girls make fun of you, I can already say you're a great guy." She bounced up on her toes, kissing him on the cheek, before backing away, offering a peace sign and a wink, before running off into the night.

Yosuke watched her go with wide eyes, a smile appearing on his face, before he turned and proceeded to enter his house. He stopped midway through the door, clutching his still aching stomach, before silently thanking his lucky stars for having a supply of ginger ale in his room to help calm his stomach.

Meanwhile, Makoto was running back home, a pep in her step and happy for another great date. As she continued, she screeched to a halt as she noticed Asuka walking by. Not one to miss an opportunity for greeting a friend, Makoto spun around and waved to Asuka.

"Hey there, Asuka!" she greeted. "How're you doing?"

"Oh, hey Makoto," Asuka replied, turning to face her. "I was just picking up something from Junes for the others."

"Coolio," Makoto said.

"So," Asuka said, "on another date with Yosuke I take it?"

"Yeah," Makoto nodded. While Yosuke was a little more relaxed about pointing out that he and Makoto were dating, with the exception of how he went to practically beg for advice from Yu, Hyde, and Team RWBY the day after Makoto first popped the offer to him, Makoto on the other hand was bragging about it to everyone. Naturally, the rest of her friends were positively blissful over it, and a sufficient amount of teasing from the others towards Yosuke was commenced in turn.

"Say Makoto," Asuka said, "has Yosuke shown you any... ninja skills?"

"Hm?" Makoto wondered, an adorable flick in her ears coming with her curiosity.

"Well I haven't really seen Yosuke fight much myself," Asuka said, "but from what I hear, he uses partial shinobi style techniques. Also his Persona is Jiraiya, which is symbolized as a frog."

Makoto raked her brains, ears and tail continuing to flick as she considered it, namely recalling how she first saw Yosuke fighting Mercury (a memory that continues to tickle her naughty bits from the way it began her infatuation with the guy in question). "Oh yeah," Makoto said. "Now that you mention it, that sounds about right."

"Yeah," Asuka said, giving a nod. "Well, I was just wondering if he'd ever be down to train with us? I mean, Ikaruga made the offer, and I wouldn't mind showing him some pointers."

"Sure!" Makoto said. "I'll see what I can do!"

"What?" Asuka asked, taken aback. "So soon?"

"Yeah," Makoto said. "I mean, why wouldn't I want to see him in action?" She twirled around mischievously as the thoughts began to come to her mind.

"Seein' my guy in action, fighting tooth and nail, sweat pouring off his skin, face flushed with exertion, muscles taught and weapons in hand~ Ooh~" Her tail had a certain twitch to it that spelled only the most pervasive things were intruding her consciousness, as her face continued to flush!

"Uh... M-Makoto?" Asuka asked nervously. "M-Makoto, what're you-? Oh no..."

Sadly, her thoughts fell on deaf ears, both sets, as Makoto was lost in dream land.

* * *

"So... let me get this straight..." Yosuke said, as Makoto lead him by the hand the following day.

"Yup!" Makoto said, ready to answer his queries.

"Your suggestion for a date," Yosuke said, "was to take me, me alone, as in you're not gonna be fighting at all, training with ninjas?"

"Yup!" Makoto echoed.

"You know," Yosuke said, "normally I would be happy to be the one man present in a sea of beautiful women, if it weren't for the fact that five of these women are going to be kicking the shit out of me. And one of them is a raging pervert," he said this last part as he looked down to see Katsu standing right beside him, crouched down low with a hand aimed directly over his crotch. She giggled awkwardly as she took a step away.

"Hey!" Makoto said, pulling out a weapon. "Hands of the merchandise! While I'm down for a bit of playing around, you're stepping on another person's territory there."

"Alright, alright," Ikaruga said, waving a hand, as she and the other Hanzo girls were waiting off to the side. "For starters, you don't have to worry Hanamura-kun. We will keep pace with you. And don't underestimate yourself either. From what our mutual friends have told us, you're not too shabby."

Yosuke smiled as he rubbed the back of his neck, Makoto patting him encouragingly on the back. He looked at her as she gave him a thumbs up with a grin.

"Okay," Ikaruga said, "let's get started, shall we? Asuka, how about you start? You use a similar technique to Hanamura, and your animal symbol is the frog."

"Sure thing!" Asuka said. She pulled up her scarf to create her ninja mask, as she pulled out her pair of katana.

Yosuke took a breath, ready to gt going, as he held his kunai in hand, waiting for the signal to be drawn. "Begin!" Ikaruga shouted, causing the two to start charging towards each other! Weapons clashed at a moments notice!

True to their words, Asuka was keeping pace with Yosuke, only striking as fast as he could block them! Still, it was clear as day that the true shinobi was the one in control of the battle, as Yosuke continued to get progressively pushed backwards by Asuka's strikes, only able to block and incapable of retaliating in the slightest! Yosuke grit his teeth as he did everything in his power to keep up with her!

_Okay, _he thought, _this is about as bad as I was expecting. I can't even get any room to attack! I gotta think this through!_

With a desperate gambit, Yosuke positively leapt over Asuka's head, landing behind her with his kunai at the ready! He shot forward in a smoke bomb, striking as fast as he could! Sacrificing strength for speed, he did his part to jab at Asuka, not going for actually injuring her, but doing so much as to prove that he would have hit her!

The shinobi in question on the other hand was not allowing herself to be caught blindly. She was able to keep up with him, though showed she was quite on the ropes. Now the tables had turned as Yosuke was taking advantage of arguably his greatest attribute to push the shinobi girl back!

Still, Asuka was not totally out of the running. She focused hard, one half of her mind centered on combating Yosuke whilst the other half centered on her own abilities. With a massive slash that cut Yosuke back, Asuka's shinobi energy flowed through her body, coating it in great green!

"Shinobi Art: Dual Slash!" she declared. Two great blasts of energy shot from her swords in an "X" shape, hurtling right towards Yosuke! The Persona user desperately tried to avoid the strike, leaping over it in another massive jump, before altering his trajectory in midair and shot towards Asuka!

Asuka met his attacks, the two getting caught in another lock! Yosuke was already starting to exhaust himself as Asuka looked like she didn't even break a sweat yet! He had to think of a new plan!

Summoning Jiraiya at his back, Yosuke jumped into the air and stretched his kunai out, rotating in a wild circle! "**Garudyne**!" he declared, as a tornado formed around his body!

Asuka backed away, before she launched herself forward! "**Hanzo-Style: Full Bloom**!" With two massive slashes, Asuka was able to cut through Yosuke's technique, before slashing him and cutting him down!

"Ow..." Yosuke said pathetically.

"You did great!" Asuka said. "With a bit more refinement you'd make a real shinobi!"

"T-thanks," Yosuke said. "I'll admit, I didn't think I'd do that well."

"Aw, come on boy!" Makoto said. "You gotta have more confidence in yourself!"

"Agreed," Ikaruga said. "Upon seeing yourself in combat, you have a true amount of potential. Given time and more refinement, you can definitely become a trained shinobi."

"Really?" Yosuke asked. "W-wow. Thanks!"

Makoto giggled as she walked forward and threw an arm around Yosuke's shoulder. "You are way too much fun Yokee!" she said, before pecking him on the cheek.

Yosuke could only chuckle as the girls treated him to something to eat later, promising that there would be more than enough training to come.

* * *

"I don't believe it," Weiss said bluntly.

"Come on Ice Queen!" Yosuke said. "Why would I lie about that?"

"To make yourself seem like some wannabe harem king?" Weiss asked.

"I'm impressed that you even know what that is," Yosuke said.

"You are familiar with Yu Narukami, right?" Weiss replied.

"Point granted," Yosuke replied.

He had intended to meet up with Yu, finding him with the Huntress-in-training he was currently talking to, who he was naturally left alone with as Yu went to grab them something to eat at the counter of the bakery they were currently in. Yu did so with the intent that these two begin getting along together, in spite of the comical degree in which they couldn't stand being around each other. But, being two of his closest friends, Yu insisted that they begin getting along.

"Well just ask Makoto or Asuka," Yosuke replied. "They can vouch for me."

"Okay," Weiss said. "Whatever. I really do not care."

Yosuke scowled at Weiss, as Yu returned, setting their food on the table. "How are you two doing?" he asked.

"How do you think?" both Weiss and Yosuke replied.

"Not well, I take it," Yu replied.

"Observant as always," Weiss said, standing up and taking her food in hand. "Sorry I have to cut things short," she told Yu, "but I have to meet up with Orie."

"We still on for Friday?" Yu asked.

"Sure thing," Weiss said, grabbing his hand before taking her leave.

Yosuke watched their interactions with wide eyes, looking back and forth between the two. "So..." he said. "Are you two...?"

"I'm waiting it out," Yu replied. "Just choosing to see how far this can go."

"Ah," Yosuke said, the two sitting in silence for a moment. His mind naturally returned to the fight he had with Asuka, thinking over where he could stand to improve. He compared the fighting styles of all of his friends, thinking about the different abilities that they had.

Yu saw his uncomfortable expression, wondering what his best friend must have been thinking. "Yosuke," he said, "are you okay?"

"Yeah," Yosuke replied. "I was just thinking of you think we should try to change our strategy a bit?"

"How do you mean?" Yu asked.

"I mean," Yosuke said, "our Personas are great, but don't you think we should change it up a bit? I mean, all of our friends have these great weapons and powers, but we're kinda behind them. Objectively speaking, we're not that strong. Shouldn't we try and think of something to keep up with them?"

"Is this about something between you and Makoto-san?" Yu asked.

"No," Yosuke replied. "Well, kinda. I just... you remember awhile ago, when we first talked about the kinda people we were into? I mentioned how I would like being with somebody I can protect. And it's obvious that Makoto isn't that kind of girl."

"Don't get me wrong, I love being with Makoto! She's an amazing woman. But... well, if push comes to shove and we end up fighting a powerful villain, I want to be able to help her. And not be some... baggage."

Yu gave a nod in understanding. "I get how you feel," he said. "Weiss has told me she's impressed by my strength, yet it is clear whenever I have seen her train with Mitsuru-san and Orie-chan that I am clearly weaker than she is. I want to be there for her and the others like Ruby-chan or Hyde."

"So," Yosuke said, "where do you think we can go?"

"There are ways," Yu replied. "With everything these worlds have to offer, we'll find the way so long as we look hard enough."

Yosuke grinned at his partner. "So we'll get stronger together, partner?" he asked.

"Yeah," Yu replied. "Let's get stronger. So we can protect those close to us."

With a confident nod and a handshake, the partners continued to discuss just how they would improve. But that's another story.

* * *

_**A/N: And after braving the planet busting plague overtaking civilization as we know it, like the phoenix, I have risen from the ashes to offer you a new chapter of Cross Tag Character Collision!**_

_**Okay, in all seriousness, school has certainly not been kind to me in the past week or two, as I mentioned before I am now home until the next school year starts basically. Not... the best thing ever, because I have no face to face human interactions to help me function as a basic human being when it comes to my new schedule or counseling but hey... it happens?**_

_**Choosing to return to the chapter, this just randomly came to my head one day and decided to execute it. This was our first real look at the budding relationship between Yosuke and Makoto - [ship name still pending]. Honestly, while I was still skeptical about it at first, I have really grown to like this relationship and think that Makoto as a person could be a really good emotional crutch for Yosuke, and when it comes to it he could be the same for her. So, that was really cute.**_

_**This also combines suggestions that I had gotten for Yosuke to train with the shinobi girls and also start the process of the Investigation Team unlocking new abilities to move forward. Not really a whole lot to say outside of that, as this was a relatively straight-forward chapter that sort of acted as a way for me to get back in the flow after a period of stagnation. I hope that you guys did enjoy it, though!**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**SomeUnnamedIdiot: I definitely have needed to get some more page time to Yuzu. And the problem I've had with Es is that I think she'd be a hard character to write for, though I'm certainly not opposed to having her show up more often. But I do concur that they should show up again!**_

_**FightingFlash64: Don't you worry now, the dance off will happen soon. That is one of my main priorities coming up!**_

_**MystechMaster: SWEET MERCIFUL CRAP! Seriously, you always have such massive requests! I love it! I sincerely have wanted to showcase chapters related to those early days of this particular month that shook Ragna's life. So I can assure you that it will be one of the next things that I am going to do. Predominantly because time is relative as far as this story is concerned, so there's nothing stopping me from going back! Ha!**_

_**To AzuriteInsanity: Great suggestion regarding Wagner! I'll definitely pocket that one! Also, Kajun has struck me as one of those comically obsessed scientists without a shred of a clue as to how to interact with normal society, in the event that helps you out.**_

_**And for everyone asking questions, keep your eyes peeled as I will be posting a new page dedicated purely to any further Q&A Chapters!**_

_**So with that all said, I want to thank you all for your patience and once again wish you all luck. Stay healthy and look out for one another. Have a wonderful evening, and until next time, take care!**_


	47. Lockdown

A/N: In the event anyone feels uncomfortable reading this chapter, feel free to skip to the ending note. I did my best to make this as fantastical as I could, but always do what's good for you

* * *

"This is a terrible idea, I hope you know that."

Ragna the Bloodedge is not what some might call an optimist. In fact, given the fact that Ragna's life was synonymous with the fabeled twelfth level of hell itself, one might call him the highest level of pessimist that could conceivably exist. And given the current climate of situations that were going on, it was best to say that he was prepared for the worst possible case scenario.

There were high tensions going on with a biohazard incident that had begun to spread across the gates connecting the different worlds together. A plague that had been invented by Team RWBY's enemy Dr. Merlot as a form of warfare meant to both mutate Grimm and poison people. The Kirijo Group heard of it and tried to stop him, but failed to keep him from releasing a prototype on Remnant.

Whilst it was only harmful to a minority of individuals, there was little if anything keeping it from potentially infecting anybody who could come into contact with it, and risk spreading it to people who could run the risk of getting hurt. That was the biggest problem. The Grimm being mutated wasn't even the biggest problem, as they could be tracked easily and exterminated. It was the degree of which it spread and harmed people, so much that it was terrifyingly easy for it to get into contact with anybody, leaving Remnant and going to the other worlds in only a few days.

For these reasons, there was obviously a bunch of discussion or rumor about the possibility of a lockdown being put into place in most places you could think of. Already locations in Vale, and even places like Inaba and Kanzakai were shut down. Most places in Ragna's world like the Hierarchical cities were not really that concerned due to the world already being blanketed in the toxic seithr on the ground levels of the planet, which is precisely why Ragna wanted to get back to his world the first chance that he got, and not be - take a guess, cause' your first one will be spot on - being dragged around by Mitsuru and Akihiko.

Yup. For Ragna, he wanted nothing more than to just bundle up somewhere and enjoy some peace and quiet until this whole ordeal blew over. But of course, he didn't get that chance, for when Mitsuru came calling, he had to answer lest he run the risk of being frozen solid. And for Ragna, he preferred to take the path of least resistance.

"There's nothing to worry about," Mitsuru reasurred the Grim Reaper. "I'm sure we will get in and get out long before the possibility of getting infected could even happen."

"That's not what I'm worried about," Ragna replied. "Trust me, with the crap that I've gone through in my life, the last thing I'm worried about is getting sick. I would just like to get back home before we get stuck here."

"Come on," Akihiko said, "quit your whining. Local officials have been keeping in touch with us all the time, so we know when things are gonna get shut down. So just shut up and enjoy your food."

Ragna rolled his eyes. He had been pulled over to a resort that belonged to the Kirijo Group in their world, just enjoying a "day off" of sorts, as Spring Break was coming to a close for the younger members of their social clique. As such, the typical subjects of Team RWBY, the Investigation Team, Asuka and Yumi's teams, Homura's Squad, Hyde and a few others from Kanzakai, Heart and her friends, Makoto and the other girls from the Remix Heart team, and Team JNPR were all grouped up to tour the resort. It was something of a favor for the Investigation Team for them to enjoy their last days of break before classes started back up. And not wanting to feel like the odd one out, Mitsuru called up Akihiko and Ragna to accompany her. Aki was chill with it, since what else would he be? And Ragna, after some convincing, came around.

"I still think this is a stupid idea," Ragna said, watching as Yosuke got smoked by Yang in a game of pool, with Makoto giving him emotional support as the rest of Team RWBY cheered Yang on. "What if something happens, like the virus mutates or something?"

"How would this virus even mutate?" Mitsuru asked.

"People could become zombies," Ragna replied bluntly, so much to the point that the Persona users honestly believed he wasn't joking.

"Well somebody has been playing too much Resident Evil," Akihiko said.

"Hey, that series is amazing," Ragna replied. "But I am being serious. We don't know for a fact what is gonna happen next. When the shit hits the fan, things are gonna go down, and we're all boned if it does."

"We'll be fine," Mitsuru said. "Honestly, I'm surprised you're so worried about this Ragna."

"Honestly," Akihiko said. "You strike me as the type that wouldn't be afraid of... well, much. Or at least show it."

"Again," Ragna said, "I don't give a damn if I get sick. But I'd rather not be stuck here with you all, and would much rather be back home taking a nap."

"Well, we'll just have to hope that nothing happens," Mitsuru said, "and if something does, so be it. We'll roll with the punches."

Ragna blinked several times as he stared at Mitsuru from across the table. Mitsuru met his gaze, but as he continued to stare at her, she soon gained a concerned expression as he refused to break eye contact.

"Do you even know me?" Ragna asked.

"W-well," Mitsuru said, "I have known you for a few months now."

"And do you think I'm the type who just 'rolls with the punches'?" Ragna asked.

"Uh... well," Mitsuru began, but Ragna cut her off.

"No," he said. "I find the hand that punched me, cut it off with my blade, and proceed to bludgeon the guy who attacked me with it until they stop thinking for the next several hours."

Mitsuru let out an exasperated breath as Akihiko merely snickered, having been thoroughly entertained by the Grim Reaper's ability to flummox the Queen of Executions.

At that moment, Mitsuru got a call, excusing herself to take it, leaving the silver haired gentlemen to return to watching the game of pool from nearby. Narukami had taken to the table next, as Yosuke was now treating his wounded pride, with Makoto still patting him soothingly on the back, Noel having joined in on the comforting.

"Okay, guy talk," Akihiko said, catching Ragna's attention. "How're things going between you and Mitsuru?"

"What do you mean?" Ragna asked.

"I mean," Akihiko replied, "how are you two doing together? How has she been around you, and you in turn have been around her?"

"Why do you care?" Ragna asked. "We're friends, plain as that."

"A-ha!" Akihiko said. "I figured something was up!"

"What do you mean, moron?" Ragna asked. "I just said that we're friends."

"Exactly," Akihiko said. "You never refer to anybody as 'friends'. So naturally you have got to be attracted to Mitsuru in some way!"

"Oh for the love of me," Ragna said, sighing heavily. "What does it even matter to you?"

"Because," Akihiko replied, "I've known Mitsuru for years now. She's one of my best friends. If she gets close to you, I gotta make sure that the guy she picks is on the level. Especially with the trouble she's had in the past to make sure she proves herself as an independent woman who doesn't need a man to step in and help her run the group."

"Well there's no problem there," Ragna replied, "cause' I'm not gonna be marrying anybody. Trust me, the last thing that somebody needs in their life is me as a boyfriend or husband. And I certainly don't need the complications of a significant other in my life."

Akihiko took a breath, exasperated at Ragna's own inability to see what was blatantly obvious in front of him. That is, until Mitsuru walked over, a distinctly fretful look on her face that was caught by both the Hungry Wolf and Grim Reaper. "What?" they both asked.

"It... seems..." Mitsuru said slowly, putting them on edge once again. "That the inland has gone on lockdown... Meaning we can't leave the island... at all... until the lockdown is lifted."

Ragna and Akihiko both widened their eyes in surprise. "So," Ragna said, "you mean that we're stuck?"

"Yes," Mitsuru said.

"And I was right?" Ragna asked.

"In a manner of speaking," Mitsuru replied.

An uneasy silence hung in the air for a moment, before Ragna stood up, and headed for the exit. "Excuse me a moment," he said. He left the room, where the next moment, an angered loud yell shook the air that got the attention of everybody in the room!

The next several minutes were spent explaining the situation to the adolescents in their group, and them calling their parents or guardians to tell them that they would be stuck on the Kirijo Group's resort, though not without adult supervision to take care of them. From there, they established what they had and made sure that everyone would be comfortable in their rooms around the resort's hotel. Mitsuru did her part to double down on making sure everyone was comfortable, feeling responsible and guilty for underestimating their situation.

Thankfully, everyone was pretty relaxed and understanding about the situation. The only problem was Ragna, naturally. Still, outside of a little pout, he wasn't genuinely upset. Just his standard dose of frustrated.

Regardless, the next several days ahead would prove to be interesting, as now everyone was stuck together. While it wasn't a worst possible case scenario, it wasn't like anybody was stuck with anyone they adamantly hated. It was just with so many exagerrated personalities stuck together, it wouldn't be long before people grow to become stir crazy.

"Ugh!" Yang groaned. "I can't take this! We've been stuck here for weeks!"

"Yang-chan," Yumi replied, "it's only been a day."

The blonde jumped to her feet, as she and a few girls like the previously mentioned Yumi, Noel, Tsubaki, Akane, Murakumo, Weiss, and Chie were all in Team RWBY's room in the hotel. As Yumi said, it had been a day since the lockdown occured, and already for the more extroverted sorts it was already becoming too much.

"I can't help it!" Yang said. "It's so dull! I need to be out! I need to be travelling!"

"I'm with Yang," Akane said. "I've gotta be out and about!"

"It can't be helped," Tsubaki said. "We can't run the risk of getting infected and spreading the plague to others."

"But what do we do?" Yang asked. "We're practically going to exhaust everything we can do!"

"We'll have to find new things to do," Weiss said with a shrug. "It's as simple as that."

"It's not like we're stuck in a single building," Chie added. "We've got an entire private island to work with!"

"I guess," Yang said. "I mean, it could be worse."

"We just get bored easy," Akane added.

"Clearly," most everyone else in the room said.

"Still," Murakumo said, "I've got more inspiration for my comics."

"So that's what you've been scribbling about," Weiss observed, having been sitting next to her.

"While I'm thinking about it," Yumi added, "Weiss-san, where's Narukami-kun?"

"Why do you ask me?" Weiss replied.

"Cause' he's your boy toy?" Yang said.

"Hey!" Weiss said indignantly. "He's not my boy toy!"

"Yes he is," the others said bluntly.

Weiss's face flushed heavily. "Well if you must know," she said, "he's currently with Hyde, Makoto, and Yosuke. Apparently Hyde needed advice on something."

"Told you," Yang said, Weiss's face becoming flustered again as the others laughed at her expense.

Just outside the room, Mitsuru smirked as she proceeded to move past the room. Still feeling partially responsible for this situation, she made sure to regularly check in on everyone. Nobody minded, as they knew that Mitsuru was a trusting individual, and she was moving about with a motherly atmosphere.

As she continued on her path, she soon crossed by the boys in one of the game rooms, with Ragna casually sitting on the side. Mitsuru took a seat next to him, watching as the boys continued to speak animatedly to one another.

"Okay," Narukami said, "I'm still unclear as to what exactly you were going for there."

"Well," Hyde said, "what do you mean?"

"What he means is," Yosuke replied, "you were really... awkward, in that offer."

"I am awkward! What do you expect?" Hyde said.

"Just be confident," Yu replied. "Don't even think about it. Just move. Like you've said before."

"Seriously," Yosuke said. "I mean, just think of it as asking Ruby-chan to hang out."

"That is what I'm asking," Hyde said. "What were you thinking?"

Yu and Yosuke shared a look. "Makoto, help us out!" Yosuke said to his girlfriend, who was sitting on a couch nearby.

"On it!" Makoto said, popping up, tail wagging. "Okay Hyde, my friend! Let me level with you. You want to act natural, right? So just be natural."

"That's what I'm trying to say!" Hyde said. "It's not like I'm asking you guys for advice or anything! I literally just said, 'I'm gonna try to hang out with Ruby' and you guys just came for my neck!"

"So why are you acting weird about it?" Makoto replied.

"Because you guys are making it awkward!" Hyde said.

Mitsuru gave another laugh as she sat with Ragna. The Grim Reaper himself rolled his eyes at their interactions, yet it was clear that he himself was entertained by them. His eyes caught Mitsuru, as the two were just casually enjoying one another's company without having to say anything.

A disgruntled noise from Mitsuru caused Ragna to look at her, seeing her rubbing the back of her neck in discomfort. "You okay?" he asked.

"I'll be alright," Mitsuru replied. "Just, the stress of all this. I still feel responsible for this in a way. I underestimated this whole situation and now we're trapped until further notice."

Ragna looked at Mitsuru, reading the weight behind her gaze. He looked away, as he reached around and began rubbing her back soothingly. Mitsuru flinched, but soon relaxed under the comforting feeling, the knots in her system coming undone.

"You're alright," Ragna said. "To be honest, if I had to be stuck with anyone, I'm somewhat relaxed that it had to be you."

Mitsuru smirked, knowing that was as much of a compliment from Ragna as anyone could ask for. She leaned over, resting herself against Ragna. "Thank you," she said.

Ragna was going to push her away, but practically feeling the stress she was under, he gave a huff and relented.

Not far away, Yu, Yosuke, Makoto, and Hyde watched their exchange.

"See that?" Yu asked. "That's you and Ruby-chan."

"Oh come on!" Hyde yelled.

/

_**A/N:**_

_**It's the end of the world and we know it! It's the end of the world and we know it, and I feel fine~!**_

_**Okay, in all seriousness, I greatly apologize for how long it's taken me to update this! It has been crazy on my end with everything that's been going on in the world at large recently, having to take classes online and working, it's all proven far too much for me to take. However, with the Summer practically here, I should have far more time on my hands to continue working on suggestions and continue in a regular fashion.**_

_**With all that being said, I do apologize once again for not updating and thank you all for your patience. That being said, with the way the world is, I thought of making a chapter that sort of takes after this, inspired by a post I found of Team RWBY in quarantine! XD Once again, I reitorate that I'm not trying to make light of the situation, but in a way do what you can to cope with it. Not much else to say about it aside from, there will probably be more to come in the future.**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To Mystech Master: As usual, you're notes are great! It's always good going over your notes again!**_

_**To William DeGrave: Great to see you finally got a page all your own! I'll see what I can do to adjust my Q&A in the future to make it easier to read.**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Yeah, it's been crazy days, and in a way I feel like I've slacked off a lot of suggestions. Hopefully I can try my best to get them all. Be safe out there! Also, the ship name Hananaya is amazing and I love it!**_

_**To AmethystRibbonKnight: Glad to hear you're a fan of Hananaya, and I will get Relius here as soon as I can.**_

_**To AzuriteInsanity: I'm happy you like my characterization of Hananaya thus far, and I like the suggestion with Kajun. **_

_**To YellowBeetle123: Honestly, part of the joke in that chapter was the fact that Narukami relented his roll as leader for no good reason. Truth be told, I'd say Narukami would objectively be better, but the joke was not so much who was legitimately the better leader, but rather seeing Team RWBY and the Investigation Team go back and forth over who they thought was the better leader between their own. (Dang, been a while since we last saw that chapter!)**_

_**To archive4465: Here we are! Again, sorry I took so long! It's-a been crazy!**_

_**To Neptunia56: Mario chapter, I dunno. Honestly making a chapter solely relying on that is something I don't think is in my wheelhouse. And giantess... probably not. Nothing against it, but that's well outta my paygrade and feels like it'd be a bit too trippy. Hope I didn't disappoint you!**_

_**To the guest who suggested a chapter going into Ragna's history, it's good! Honestly, I really dropped the ball on not getting a chance to showcase his history last month. That kinda bums me out, but I'm determined to get to it... eventually.**_

_**And to the guest who suggested the Investigation Team's old-school/dlc costumes - I can dig it!**_

_**And with that all finally said and done, again, hopefully I can update more regularly in the future now that I'm not worrying about classes anymore. Until next time, thank you all for your patience and support. Until next time, I'll see you all soon! (Hopefully!)**_


	48. Yumi vs Weiss: A Cold Hard Bout!

**Warning! ****Oncoming**** fanservice! You have been warned!**

* * *

Hyde knew that he was in trouble when he found Yosuke was grinning like an idiot. Truth be told, Yosuke was a really good friend of his. But he knew that Yosuke could easily get him into trouble, the whole incident with the beauty pageant and subsequent drag contest at the Vytal Festival being a prime example. Henceforth, when he saw Yosuke making that stupid face that showed that he _wanted _something, which would no doubt get him into trouble with the girls, Hyde was primed and ready for fight or flight mode.

What made the situation even worse was the fact that Makoto was right there with him. Yosuke and Makoto had been going out for some time, and everyone was happy for them about it. The girls had been happy about it in particular, because they were under the impression that with Makoto being the center of Yosuke's attention, it would mean he'd stop messing with them as often... Problem being that Makoto was easily as perverted as Yosuke, so that idea went up in smoke.

Case in point:

"You want us to do what with the who now?" Hyde asked.

"The girls from Gessen," Yosuke said, "got into an argument with Team RWBY, so they decided to settle the disagreement by pairing up Weiss and Yumi-chan to a match!"

"Why should I care?" Hyde asked.

"Because~" Makoto said. "Haven't you heard about the _unfortunate _things that happen in the ninjas' world?"

"Of course I have," Hyde said. "Why do you think I do everything in my power to avoid their world?"

Hyde was of course referring to the infamous fact that in the world that Yumi, Asuka, Katsu and the other girls from Gessen, Hanzo, Hebijo, and so on come from, whenever they get into a fight, their clothes have a tendency to... evaporate. Or at least that's the best way to describe it. Clothes would shatter like wet toilet paper in a fight between shinobis in manners that would fulfill the hopes and dreams of any preteen boy.

Naturally, for those somewhat more "shy" or outright considerate about these kinds of things, like Hyde, or if he could help it, Narukami, they knew to stay far away from any of that. But then there were those that had no concept of shame. And one of them happened to be Yosuke Hanamura.

"You are no fun," Makoto said.

"Come on!" Yosuke said. "It's gonna happen regardless, so we may as well watch! I mean, don't you want to cheer Team RWBY, and more specifically, Weiss on?"

"Of course," Hyde replied. "But I'm not just gonna up and treat them like eye-candy and take advantage of what will obviously be an embarrassing situation for Weiss. That's disrespectful."

"So you find the feminine form to be something to avoid?" Makoto asked. "Are you some kind of nark that thinks that natural feminine beauty is something to be ashamed of!?"

"W-what!?" Hyde said, suddenly finding himself on the receiving end of some very disparaging accusations! "Of course not! Why would you ever think that-!"

"So why do you suddenly think that the mere potential of seeing more of the beautiful woman's body is a problem!?" Makoto demanded.

"Because it isn't by choice!" Hyde said.

"Be that as it may," Makoto said, "that still doesn't change the fact you find seeing a woman's body as revolting!"

"Of course I don't!" Hyde said.

"But you wouldn't look at a woman!" Makoto said.

"I would so!" Hyde retorted.

"So will you?" Makoto asked.

"I will!" Hyde declared, before he even realized what he just agreed to. "Wait a minute," he said, as he saw Makoto and Yosuke share a high five.

"That's my girl!" Yosuke said happily, kissing Makoto on the cheek, causing the demi-human to giggle. "And," Yosuke added, looking to Hyde, "no take backsies."

Hyde rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh. Knowing full well that there was too much effort to bother trying to get out of it, he figured it would be easier to just let it go and commit. But things got put on hold for a moment as the three heard Ruby scream at the top of her voice!

The group ran over to the source of the noise, finding Ruby in a bathroom with a mortified expression on her face! Hyde had Insulator in his hand, ready for a fight at a moment's notice! "Ruby! What's wrong!?" he said.

"My hair is getting too long again!" she yelled, holding her hair that was just about down to her shoulder now.

Hyde stopped in his tracks, a somewhat miffed expression on his face. He knew from past experience that Ruby hated having her hair grow out, and went into a full blown panic if it started to get too long. For her, nothing could be below the nape of her neck, or else show's over.

"Really?" he asked. "This again?"

"Shut up!" Ruby said. "It's horrible! And no hair salon is open! I... I think I'm gonna...!"

"Ruby, calm down," Hyde said. "It's just hair."

"I don't care!" Ruby said. "It's hot! It get's in the way! It's super hard to maintain!"

"Ruby, for pity's sake!" Hyde said. "You're acting like a toddler!" Ruby could only splutter awkwardly in response, Makoto and Yosuke merely standing off to the side with mildly entertained looks on their faces.

Ruby and Hyde practically never got into any actual fights, regulated solely to Hyde having to put the brakes on some of Ruby's more exagerrated moments. Hence they knew that this wasn't really a legitimate argument between the two. Merely a little disagreement with Hyde having to reel her in.

"What's all the commotion?" a new voice asked. The group looked at a passing by figure who stopped to listen to what was going on. It turned out to be none other than a Hanzo student themself, in the form of Yagyu, the eyepatch wearing, coolheaded albino.

"Oh, nothing in particular," Yosuke replied. "Ruby-chan was just freaking out over her hair growing out."

"Again?" Yagyu said.

"Again," Makoto laughed.

"Don't laugh at my pain!" Ruby said.

"You know, Ruby," Yagyu said, "I can cut your hair if you'd like."

"Really?" Ruby asked.

"Yeah," Yagyu said. "I cut Hibari's hair all the time, it's no trouble. Plus, the others from Hanzo and I were going to join you in watching the match with Yumi-san and Weiss-san, so I can cut it while we're watchi-"

Yagyu was cut off as she found herself tackled by Ruby in a histerical hug! "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she said, comically crying as she rubbed cheeks with Yagyu, causing the shinobi's eyepatch to be scrunched up on her face!

Hyde looked at the ground as he recalled what Yagyu said about the fight. He still couldn't believe he'd let Makoto swindle him into watching it go down. As he thought this, he looked at the demi-human, who met his gaze with a cocky look.

"Don't give me that look," he said.

"I don't know what you mean," Makoto said, tail wagging happily.

* * *

Later, Team RWBY and the Hanzo girls were meeting up with the girls from Gessen Academy. They were standing in the training yard of the academy in question at that moment in time, with a warm, somewhat muggy heat was in the air, sure to elicit waves of sweat later on from the fierce bout that would soon commence, which would thankfully be counteracted by their cold powers.

From the sidelines, Hyde was watching as he sat with his elbows propped against his legs, with his chin cupped in his hands, his blood red eyes firing off on all cylinders. To his side were Yosuke, Makoto, and Narukami. Yu had his typical stoic mien on his face, whilst Yosuke and Makoto were giggling with excitement, Makoto having a camera prepped in her hands to take some snapshots of the "action."

Naturally, nobody from Hanzo, Gessen, or Beacon knew the true reason why these individuals were so eager to witness the oncoming fight, the implication merely being that they wanted to cheer the cold girls on. (How naive of them.) And any consequences that the likes of Makoto or Yosuke might receive for their inevitable gocking was put to the side to be worried about when it came about.

And that brought one final spot of questioning to the In-Birth as he looked at the Kingpin. He knew that Yu had some "appreciation" for the feminine form, but unlike his more perverted companions, it was more of a genuine analysis and not full blown hounding. And if the whole Peach Beach Splash incident was anything to go off of, Yu would not face the same berating that the demi-human or magician would receive. But that still begged the question...

"So Narukami," he said, "what're you doing here exactly? I mean, don't you know how much you're gonna be murdered if even part of what I've heard happens in this place happens to Weiss?"

"Quite the contrary," Yu replied. "As I have a fool-proof strategy to save me in the event of just such an occurence."

"Oh is that right?" Hyde asked.

"Care to share?" Makoto asked, squirrel ears perking up.

"You're on your own," Yu replied, prompting Makoto to double over in defeat. "But in truth," Yu said, "I actually came here truthfully to cheer on Weiss. As a friend, I want to see how my friends fare in their battles and encourage them all."

Hyde smiled. In spite of being nearly the same age, it seemed that Yu Narukami was wise beyond his years. He wished that he had the capacity for social links the same way that Narukami was. It would certainly make him less socially awkward all the time.

In about another minute, the cold-hearted battle between Weiss and Yumi was set to begin. As everyone got a safe distance away, the two freezing opponents stood about ten feet apart with their weapons primed; Weiss holding Myrtenaster in her left hand, tip pointed right at Yumi, as she stood in her confident battle stance, as Yumi held one fan at her back, with the other held in front of her face.

The main reason why it was Weiss and Yumi specifically selected was the two were rather well acquainted with one another, comparing their days at their respective academies and their time spent with their teammates. They had very similar lives as it turns out, with the lifestyles of Huntresses and the shinobi having many similarities - utilizing shinobi techniques and/or Semblances and Dust, fighting yoma or Grimm, the works - but they had fiercely different outlooks when met with it, so they ended up looking to one another for advice on different approaches. Yumi found herself asking for advice on being more assertive, whilst Weiss asked Yumi how to be more patient. Suffice is to say, they ended up being a natural choice for a fight. In addition, it was suffice to say that Hyde was also very nervous about watching them fight.

He was rather concerned about seeing anybody fighting for fear of what he would bear witness to, but this matchup was a relative nightmare for him. He was pretty close with Weiss, having helped save her from Azrael, and was very courteous and polite to her ever since, garnering him the moniker of "gentleman" from Weiss ever since and becoming one of the few individuals that Weiss confided in or sought advice from. He was also pretty close to Yumi as well, in spite of being hard pressed for varying conversation material with her thanks to his prior awe over hearing she was a ninja, but thankfully she was very polite to him and was willing to spend time with him as she admired his role in the Hollow Night as an In-Birth and honorary member of the Night Blade, feeling an otherworldly kinship with him.

For a long moment, Weiss and Yumi merely looked one another in the eye with their mirroring blue eyes, before Ruby finally fired off a shot from Crescent Rose, prompting them to begin! Yumi was naturally the faster one, with Weiss choosing the initiative and summoning a glyph to block her oncoming strike! Yumi proceeded to swing her fans against Weiss's glyph for a few seconds, before the Ice Queen dug the tip of Myrtenaster into the ground to summon a wave of ice at her feet!

The shinobi had leapt into the air to avoid the assault, before sending a good deal of ice spikes down at Weiss! The Huntress herself summoned another glyph to send her backwards, the ice darts embedding themselves into the ground harmlessly! Yumi descended, spinning around in a circle before slamming her dual fans at Weiss, who blocked them with her rapier!

They both separated, circling each other for a fierce moment! The cold hard glares they were giving each other spoke nothing of their friendship, easily cold enough to freeze any solid object without the use of their special abilities! Quick as a flash they went from their positions in front of one another, before they rushed and locked blades once more, Weiss having to utilize her weapon's longer length to block Yumi's dual fans!

From the sidelines, the others were watching with awed expressions as they saw the multiple strikes clash against each other, neither seeming to get a leg up over the other!

"Wow!" Ruby said. "They're really going at it! I don't think I've ever seen Weiss so determined when sparring before!"

"Yumi is the only one who seems to match Weiss's capabilities," Yozakura replied.

From the other side of the arena, the other casual spectators were watching with equally impressed looks.

"Man," Hyde said, "this is one close fight!"

"Weiss-san and Yumi-san are equally skillful it would appear," Yu said.

"Come on, come on, come on!" Makoto said angrily. "This isn't what I paid for!"

"What exactly did you pay for?" Yu and Hyde said threateningly. Makoto jumped in the air as she felt a threatening aura coming off of the two of them, with the phantom image of Izanagi hovering over Yu's body as Hyde's Void Red EXS flowed off of him in smokey waves.

"W-well what I mean to say is," she said. "Is that I... well I was... Yokee, honey, help me!" she said, grabbing Yosuke's arm!

"Don't you drag me into this!" he said.

Back with the fight, Yumi had kicked things up a notch as she backed twenty feet away from Weiss, using waves of icy wind to keep her opponent at bay! Then, a cold air flowed condensing in a mist that surrounded her in a cloud! Waving her hands out, icy spikes shot up towards Weiss!

The Huntress in training was quick to react, summoning a half dozen glyphs that surrounded her in a horshoe shape, before with a spin of Myrtenaster's barrel, she created waves of fire that burst the ice that got close to her! When the flames died down, Weiss maintained her glyphs as she shot a blast of earth that rose up at Yumi with the Dust she had at her disposal! Yumi merely side stepped the strike in an elegant spin, before nearly being caught off guard as blades of wind came at her!

Yumi was able to slice the blades away, but was still narrowly scraped by them, causing the bottom of her robes to get torn as her left sleeve also got caught! Her skin was only somewhat raw from the scrapes; not quite cut, but enough to assuredly be sore. Weiss knew that from whatever training they got the shinobi were fairly durable, not because of any Aura, but for whatever reason it meant that Weiss didn't need to hold anything back from claiming victory.

Back on the sidelines, Makoto was quick on the draw with her camera and took a photo of the battle damage that Yumi sustained! "And so it begins~" she giggled hungrily. From beside her, the guys edged away nervously, not wanting to get in the way of this nutty (get it?) girl by any means.

As the fight continued, Yumi was determined not to let this minor upset get the better of her. From the sidelines, she could also hear her comrades cheering for her, giving her a further drive to win!

"You can do it Yumi!" Minori and Murakumo yelled.

"We know you can do it!" Yozakura called out.

"You still got this Yumi!" Shiki called. "Show that pale broad who's boss!"

"Hey!" Weiss said.

"That was taking it a bit too far," Katsu said.

"I calls em' like I sees em'," Shiki said.

"How's about you call my fist in your face?" Yang said.

"Woah now!" Shiki said. "Let's not get violent before our own match!"

"She's right Yang," Blake said. "Simmer down. Besides, she has to worry more about me strangling her with Gambol Shroud's ribbon."

"What!?" Shiki said fretfully, far more afraid of Blake than she was of Yang.

"Guys! They started again!" Ruby said, pointing to the fight. "And besides, we all know the biggest threat would be me putting a bullet in her kneecaps."

Shiki was white as a sheet as she looked at her fellow Gessen students! "Aren't any of you going to help me!?" she said.

"You dug your own grave you nimrod," Murakumo said.

Sure enough, back in the fray, Yumi had shot towards Weiss with remarkable speed, feinting so as to slash at her from below! Weiss was quick to react in time so as to block her attacks by twisting Myrtenaster at different angles, and riding along with the strokes of the frigid shinobi's attacks! Yumi then proceeded to try and sweep out Weiss's feet from under her once more by slicing at her with freezing cold air, forcing Weiss to move, which allowed her the opportunity to strike from above!

Yumi leapt at Weiss, fans aimed downward! However, anticipating an attact like that, Weiss merely blocked her upward attack with her sword! This however proved to be a fake out, as Yumi dove for the ground, completely overshooting Weiss's prepared block, so as to slash at Weiss's back with a backhanded swing! The heiress proved just barely fast enough to block the attack, but had to painfully bend over backwards in order to do so!

Yumi still proved to have thought well ahead, as she followed up the attack with a diagonal slash of freezing darts with her other hand that shredded up Weiss's back! The Huntress spun around to face Yumi with her sword at the ready, looking at the damage she sustained with eyes as wide as dinner plates! Her jacket was shredded at the back, the entire right sleeve obliterated as a matching set to the damage she did to Yumi's robe. But what she was more confused about was how that even happened!

Aura was like a protective membrane that protected a person's body and could be projected into their weapons to amplify their power. By that logic, they can also protect a person's clothing. How in the world her jacket was able to get shredded when she knew that her Aura should've protected it!

In spite of this confusing turn she knew she had to remain focused. She tossed the now useless jacket aside as she kept Myrtenaster trained! From the sidelines, Makoto merely got more excited! "Yes!" she said. "Show me those bare shoulders!"

"Should I feel threatened or something?" Yosuke asked.

"Not at all sweety," Makoto said, tapping Yosuke with her tail affectionately.

Yumi could tell that Weiss was put on edge for whatever reason, so the shinobi was determined to keep the initiative! She sent a flurry of ice darts at Weiss, along with a wave of spikes from the ground once more! Weiss dug her sword into the ground, stopping the ice in its tracks! Yumi leapt towards her with remarkable speed, with Weiss barely having enough time to leap over Yumi with a glyph!

Weiss was quick to realize that Yumi definitely had the speed advantage, with the heiress's glyphs the most she would be able to survive any great speed strikes! Weiss was able to put some distance between the two of them, but Yumi was right in front of her by the time she landed! Yet Weiss had planned ahead, as the ice around her that Yumi had made shifted back towards its owner!

The ice slammed into Yumi, blowing the shinobi backward! Weiss smirked as she watched her opponent roll across the ground, waiting until Yumi was ready to get back up. But by the time Yumi did, Weiss had her face drop in shock and horror!

Yumi's robe had been shattered from the waist down, revealing her blue and white patterned panties, as what was left of the robe in the upward direction was barely long enough to reach her belly button in its tattered state! The Beacon students all gaped in horror, and even a few from Hanzo or Gessen were at least somewhat flustered!

"O-o-oh my gosh!" Ruby said, her face turning red as her hood as she pulled up said article of clothing to cover her face!

"Poor Yumi," Blake said.

"Jeez Weiss! Why'd you do that?" Yang asked sarcastically, though still feeling sympathetic for Yumi's current state.

"I-it was an accident!" Weiss said, hearing the blonde brawler's joke. "Y-Yumi I'm so sorr-!" She stopped as a few darts of ice shot by and shredded parts of her skirt!

Weiss looked down at her skirt, seeing that it had thankfully only been cut on the sides, leaving her modesty intact. She looked up at Yumi, who was merely smiling at her confidently. She was not even blushing at the embarrassing situation!

Weiss was naturally confused. Why in the world was she not embarrassed? Yumi seemed to notice Weiss's surprise, and felt it would be kind enough to respond.

"As a shinobi," she said, "I've been trained so as to be not the least bit embarrassed in such situations, or allow said embarrassment to slow me down."

The Huntress in training felt that made enough sense, but given that she was not trained in such a manner she was sure to not let such embarrassing consequences befall her! She summoned her time glyph and shot forward at remarkable speed! Yumi was still quick enough to block Weiss's oncoming strike and sidestep around it! Now behind her, she slashed at Weiss's legs forcing her to jump over the attack! Yumi then slashed upwards, Weiss incapable of blocking in her awkward jump, her top suffering damage as a result!

She backed up, showing that a portion of her top had been cut off, revealing a patch of white still barely hidden by what was left of her top! Her face glowed red in embarrassment, desperately tossing Myrtenaster to her right hand so as to use her left arm for covering more of herself! From the sidelines, the others all gaped at the sight!

"Well," Yagyu said, looking up from cutting Ruby's hair, "this is already proving to be more of Weiss than I needed to see."

"You won't find me complaining!" Shiki laughed.

The others from Team RWBY all stayed silent. Weiss was a very private individual, opting to always change into her different clothes in the bathroom. She was just far too shy, so this... this was a bit much.

"Oh dear," Ikaruga added. "Weiss is already looking embarrassed. Do you think she'll be able to finish the fight?"

"I'm not sure," Asuka relented. "It's gonna be a matter of her pride for maintaining her modesty versus her pride for not losing the fight."

"Please finish the fight!" Katsu said. "Mama's gonna need me a pale as-agh!" She stopped as a pair of fingers had jammed themselves into her neck, causing her to drool and pass out on the ground! The other Hanzo students all looked at Blake and saw that it was the faunus who'd done so.

"Wow," Yagyu said. "How'd you do that?"

"Pressure points," Blake said. "Courtesy of Akihiko."

On the other side, Hyde, Yu, and even Yosuke were all blushing greatly at that tiny tease of Weiss's more private parts that had come by! "Holy smokes!" Yosuke said.

"T-this is going too far," Hyde said.

"Are you kidding!?" Makoto said. "It's not going far enough! We're barely starting!"

Hyde shook his head at the beastkin's actions. "Yu, are you okay?" he asked.

Yu shook his head lightly, sitting back up as he looked at the fight again with his typical stoic face once more. "Soon," he said. "I can feel it."

"Huh?" Hyde said. "What's soon?"

"Just wait," Yu said.

"Dude," Hyde said, "when you get like this, it makes me nervous."

"Welcome to my world," Yosuke said. "Nearly every single day."

Back with the fight, Yumi held herself steady, giving Weiss a moment to pull herself together out of courtesy once again. "Would you like to stop?" she asked. "We can hold for now."

Weiss scowled as she looked at Yumi. "No," she said. "I have to remain firm. I'm not going to falter just for some paltry embarrassment!"

Yumi gave a nod. "I can respect that," she said. "So allow me to speed up the process of the fight."

Before Weiss could question what she meant, Yumi's body was overtaken by cold energy, which obscured the shinobi's body for a moment! When it died down, Weiss was surprised to see that Yumi's appearance had changed. Her once dark gray hair had become an icy blue, as well as slightly longer than it was before. In addition, her cold blue eyes were now as red as Hyde's.

Weiss was surprised with Yumi's change, feeling the power that had come off of her now, turning her a great deal stronger than she was prior, that much was obvious! Yumi smirked at Weiss as she felt the awestruck gaze of her andd everyone else that had never seen her like this before. "You're called 'Ice Queen' by your friends, yes?" Yumi said. "How fun, as I call this my Ice Queen Mode!"

With a wave of both hands, ice shot towards Weiss far faster and in far larger quantities than the heiress had seen thus far! Weiss desperately tried to launch herself away, but the ice was too fast! Before she could think to block with another glyph, Weiss found herself overtaken by the ice! Cuts and slashes sprinkled her body before her momentum finally released her, causing her to stumble on her feet!

When she looked down at herself, she saw that her skirt was far more shredded now! More of her white bra was shown from the shreds in the top of her skirt, and the sides of the skirt itself was now revealing a lot of her leg, leading up to parts of some white fabric that anybody could assume its origin! Embarrassment flodded Weiss in full, making it far more difficult to concentrate on how to retaliate, as Yumi's boosted state came down at her again!

Weiss found herself unable to block many of Yumi's attacks, as the cold shinobi slashed at her from multiple angles, with Yumi's superior speed and dual weapons far too much for Weiss to match! While the attacks themselves didn't hurt too much, more of Weis's clothes were destroyed with each strike!

Face glowing in embarrassment, Weiss finally felt the last bit of her inner restraint finally come undone! With a burst of cold air, a giant armored figure emerged from behind her, which brought down a giant sword on top of a very stunned Yumi! The shinobi's body bounced across the ground, having been hit so hard she slipped out of her Ice Queen mode. On top of that, she'd also "slipped out" of the last of her robe, leaving her only in her underwear.

She sat up off the ground, rubbing her aching head. From the sidelines, there was silence as Weiss's summoned Grimm vanished from sight. Until, finally, a burst of applause and cheers came out!

"That was awesome!" Minori yelled.

"Damn! Yumi's finally lost it all," Murakumo said.

"Not just yet!" Katsu said. "We can still see if they can go til' there's no clothes left at all-agh!" She crumpled to the ground again as Blake retracted her fingers. "Must I continue to do that?" she asked.

"Now that I'm thinking about it," Hibari said, "what happened to Weiss?"

They got their response as they heard the Huntress in training in question yell out at the top of her voice! As the steam died down, they saw her crouched on the ground doing her best to shield herself, but any sense of mystery was lost as they could see plain as day that her skirt was totally gone, leaving her in her white, frilly underwear! "What in Dust's name is this horrible place!?" she yelled, more angry than embarrassed it would seem.

From the other side, Hyde and Yosuke both found it difficult to turn their eyes away as their faces were practically as red as Weiss's own! Makoto on the other hand was as shameless as ever, as she continued to take as many pictures as she could!

"Man," Yosuke said, "if Chie or Yukiko or even Rise knew I was watching this, they'd kill me for sure! Just be happy that Ted ain't here."

"S-so..." Hyde said. "I-I guess this is a draw, eh Narukami? ...Narukami?"

Both the In-Birth and Persona user looked where the Investigation Team's leader had been just a moment ago, only to find that he was gone. "W-where did he go?" Hyde asked.

"I can give you one guess," Makoto replied, prompting both boys to look down and see that Yu had jumped right over to Weiss's side, throwing his jacket over her shoulders to give her extra coverage.

"Huh," Hyde said. "You don't think he was waiting to do that all this time, do you?"

"Honestly, with Narukami, it wouldn't surprise me," Yosuke replied.

With Yu and Weiss, the heiress was embarrassed to be so close to Narukami in such a vulnerable state, only fueling her further embarrassment, but saw that he was polite enough to not look directly at her. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Y-yes," Weiss replied, standing back up and holding Yu's jacket over her shoulders, attempting to regain some sense of control. "I... appreciate the help. Know that I was not anticipating this whatsoever."

"I understand," Yu said politely. He looked over her shoulder to see the rest of Team RWBY approaching.

"Gosh Weiss," Ruby said, "that was one intense fight! You're seriously brave!"

"Well no need to-" Weiss said, before she registered what she said. "Wait, huh?"

"Yeah!" Ruby said. "If I was in your shoes, I'd have died of embarrassment the moment my dress started ripping!"

"She's not buttering you up," Yang said. "Choosing to keep fighting in spite of that was pretty hardcore." Blake was naturally quiet, but gave an encouraging nod.

Weiss looked aside, an unreadable look on her face. "Thanks," she said.

Yumi approached next, still only in her underwear. Team RWBY at large all looked embarrassed, Yang and Blake both throwing their hands up to cover Yu's eyes as Ruby hid in her hood again! "You did very well," Yumi said, holding a hand out to Weiss. "I look forward to training with you again."

"Y-yes," Weiss said, holding the jacket with one hand as she shook Yumi's hand with her other. "But, preferrably in a place where our clothes can sustain."

"Fair enough," Yumi giggled.

"Wait! That's it!?" Katsu said. "You're not gonna keep fighting!?"

"What makes you think we will!?" Weiss asked.

"Seriously!" Ruby said, emerging from her hood. "They've got nothing left to lose!"

"Of course they do!" Katsu said.

"What a rip off!" Shiki spoke up as well.

At that moment, Yu pushed Blake and Yang's arms aside as a deadly look was in his eye. "Are we gonna have a problem?" he asked threateingly, as the shadow of Izanagi-no-Okami hovered over him.

"N-n-no sir!" Katsu and Shiki said, ducking down in fear.

"Good," Yu said, calm as a cucumber in the next instant. "I'm glad we're in agreeance. Now then, I take it Weiss has a spare outfit in her bag. Let's get her changed into it. I'll find a changing room."

Team RWBY and Yumi all looked at Yu leave with impressed expressions.

"Dang," Yang said. "And I thought we were protective of each other."

"He does have the power of bonds for a reason," Blake added.

"And that's why he's my favorite," Weiss said proudly, her confidence renewed as she moved to catch up with him.

From the sidelines, Makoto, Yosuke, and Hyde all saw that exchange and were equally as impressed. None of them had anything to come up with to reply to such as sight save for a natural "Wow."

* * *

_**A/N: It's been a while once again huh? For one thing I'd like to apologize once more for taking so long. At this point I think it's safe for me to put **_**[Slow Updates] **_**In the description of this story for the way in which life and my general train of thoughts get in the way. But I thank you all for your patience and understanding once again.**_

_**With that being said, this is a concept that was inspired by a recommendation by William DeGrave to see a Shinobi vs. Huntsmen battle! Now this is not exactly the same as his actual suggestion, but one can attribute it as a prologue of sorts to what he wanted to see! I was kind of struggling to find a concept to use for a while with a lack of motivation for a time, but this was the first one I felt click and run off with my own idea inspired by it, and I found a flash of inspiration hit me like a freight train as I continued to go with it! Now I can hopefully see another chapter less than a month away, so this one is kind of special for that reason, and you can rest assured the idea as Will left it will be done properly in the future!**_

_**In terms of what I actually included, I really enjoyed writing the fight between Yumi and Weiss, with poor Weiss's growing embarrassment in contrast to Yumi's iron will, and the different incorporations of their abilities. Not to mention we got more Hananaya, Hyde feeling self-conscious, and Yu being the ultimate chad. We even got a call-back to Ruby's hair problems, which I still enjoy way more than I should.**_

_**Review Time!**_

_**To Mystech Master: As always, your suggestions are great and give me a lot of material to use, which in my current state is very appreciated!**_

_**To fernandamichelleraya: Thanks for your continued support, and I will definitely get to that Adachi suggestion eventually, rest assured. (Also what you mentioned about Hazama adopting Ruby is nervewracking, as I need my baby protected at all costs!)**_

_**To William DeGrave: Once again, the idea you actually left is very great and I hope to write it in full in the future. I hope there's no trouble with the fact that I had a similar concept utilized for this chapter, but not the one you actually left. Thank you again for leaving a suggestion that inspired me back into the fray!**_

_**To archive4465: I hope that this chapter was also worth the wait that I left you with from last time as well, and hopefully I can update again sooner.**_

_**To Naoto Redgrave: While they might have been stuck for a while, hopefully they won't be stuck again unless other ideas come about.**_

_**To Kinaki747: As I've been thinking about it more as of recent, I think that the others discovering the connection between Naoto K. and Ragna would definitely be interesting and leaves room for experimentation. So you can look forward to that soon.**_

_**And on that same wavelength, To 5had0wHand: I like that take on the idea quite a bit and feel can lead to a lot of comedic possibilities, whilst still playing straight in some places! Thanks for your feedback! Also, I have been needing Maria to show up, so that should happen soon.**_

_**To Last Step: I definitely think that an idea regarding the P3 Protag would be interesting, I'd just have to find a good matchup. And yes, I feel exploring some more of the dark pasts regarding characters is a must have! Also so many people have connected Ozpin and Linne that I feel that **_**must **_**be one of the next stories I do, as another guest user recommended that too! (Also, I hope you're staying safe too!)**_

_**To the guest that left other name suggestions for Ragna and Mitsuru's pairing, those were all good, but I chose to go with Grim Executions. I hope that's not a problem, and I do appreciate the feedback! And in regards to incorporating the Phantom Thieves, that's a bit up in the air. Incorporating characters from P3 like Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Aigis is exempt since they are supporting characters in P4A, but we've not seen the P5 cast meet them outside of PQ. But if there are enough suggestions, I'd be happy to have them show up for a chapter. Also, I definitely standby Adachi and Hazama being made for each other! XD**_

_**And the guest user that recommended Terumi and the other bad guys, know that I have a follow-up villain focused chapter in mind! Rest easy!**_

_**And the last thing I'll mention for this chapter is I have planned on writing independent spin-offs dedicated to particular character match-ups like Night Rose and Royal Flush. Self-contained narratives that leave room for more focus on romance or character focused drama. If you guys would like to see that, just let me know! **_

_**As always, let me know any suggestions or recommendations you have, stay safe, wash your hands, don't hog all the toilet paper, and until next time, take care!**_


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